Course 102

VERSION 6.0
 Topics
INTRODUCTION TO PRIMAVERA
THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT LIFE CYCLE
DATA, NAVIGATING, AND LAYOUTS
ENTERPRISE PROJECT STRUCTURE
CREATING A PROJECT
CREATING A WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE
ADDING ACTIVITIES

CONTINUED...
 Topics (cont.)
CREATING RELATIONSHIPS
SCHEDULING
ASSIGNING CONSTRAINTS
MAINTAINING THE PROJECT DOCUMENTS LIBRARY
FORMATTING SCHEDULE DATA
ROLES AND RESOURCES
ASSIGNING ROLES

CONTINUED...
 Topics (cont.)
ASSIGNING RESOURCES AND COSTS
ANALYZING RESOURCES
OPTIMIZING THE PROJECT PLAN
BASELINING THE PROJECT PLAN
PROJECT EXECUTION AND CONTROL
REPORTING PERFORMANCE
PROJECT WEB SITE
Introduction to Primavera
LESSON 1

1
 Lesson Objectives
 Describe Primavera solutions
 Describe P6
Lesson 1

1
 Introduction to Primavera
 Primavera Systems Inc. is the world's leading project
and portfolio management software company, providing
the software foundation that enables all types of
businesses to achieve excellence in managing their
portfolios, programs, projects, and resources. It is
estimated that projects totaling more than $5 trillion in
value have been managed with Primavera products.
 Primavera began in 1983 with the launch of PC-based
software for engineering and construction. Today
Primavera is a diversified software company that
provides both desktop and enterprise-class solutions
that enable companies to prioritize, plan, manage, and
Lesson 1

measure the project investments necessary to grow the

business and service their customers.

2
 Introduction to Primavera (cont.)

 Primavera Solutions
 The graphic below lists Primavera solutions and the
industries served by Primavera.
 P6 - An enterprise-wide project planning, management
and control solution that enables organizations to meet
budget and deadline commitments by managing
schedules, resources, and costs across all of their
projects and programs. P6 is the solution covered in this
course.
 ProSight - A portfolio management and analysis solution
that enables organizations to deliver maximum value by
identifying and prioritizing strategic projects and
Lesson 1

investments, as well as comply with regulatory

imperatives.

2
 Introduction to Primavera (cont.)

 Primavera Solutions
 Evolve - An enterprise resource management solution
that enables services organizations to improve utilization
and profitability by ensuring the right person is assigned
to the right project at the right time.
 Cost Manager - A solution that reduces the work
necessary to track earned value. Graphic representations
are automatically generated using the latest project
information from a centralized database. Download cost
data from your accounting system by using a flexible
interface module to ensure a consistent and complete
Lesson 1

view of project performance. Alternatively, actual cost

data may be entered or imported from Primavera.

3
 Introduction to Primavera (cont.)

 Primavera Solutions
 Contract Manager - This solution, formerly known as
Expedition, enables the tracking of contracts from
original estimate to buy-out. Track all project submittals
and automate the approval process via workflow
management. Comprehensive change management
functionality assures that changes are resolved,
payments are made, and claims are avoided.
 PertMaster - A risk analysis and mitigation solution that
enables organizations to overcome project and portfolio
uncertainty by modeling risks and analyzing the cost and
Lesson 1

schedule impacts of mitigation scenarios.

3
 Primavera P6
Client/Server Applications

Project
Architect
Methodology Management Project Management Portfolio Analysis

Real-Time/
Summary
Information
Methodology
Management Project
Project
Database Templates
Management
- MMDB - Database
(Methodologies Real-Time/ - PMDB -
and Summary (Project Plans) Progress Reporting
Processes) Information and Collaboration

Web Applications

Primavera on the Web

Project Portfolio Management
Architect
Project Management
Lesson 1

Timesheets
Resource Management
Collaboration

4
 Primavera P6
 P6 is used for planning, monitoring, and controlling
projects. Project data is stored in a central database and
can be accessed via client-server and the Web.
 Among P6's capabilities:
 Enterprise-wide project management, resource management,
and portfolio analysis.
 Personalized role-based dashboards provide quick visual
indicators of the health and status metrics of projects and
programs, and help determine which projects need help to get
back on track.
 Extensive project reporting, including industry-standard
Lesson 1

templates and a customization wizard.

4
 Primavera P6 (cont.)

 Scorecards that contain project scores, schedule

performance, cost performance, earned value metrics,
milestone dates, WBS summaries, RFI status, and
change control documents.
 Capacity analysis and resource planning to anticipate resource
usage requirements in future projects.
 Collaborative workspaces to initiate projects and document
workflows; manage and approve documents; and communicate
with the project team.
Lesson 1

4
 Primavera P6 (cont.)

 Methodology Management
 An integrated process improvement platform for delivering
best practices, lessons learned, and organizational standards in
the form of project templates, work product templates, and
estimation metrics.
 Create, capture, organize, and improve reusable components
for building future project plans.
Lesson 1

5
 Primavera P6 (cont.)

 Timesheets
 Enables Web-based timekeeping and communication.
 Team members see all supporting information they need to
coordinate and perform their work while communicating
directly with the central database.
Lesson 1

5
The Project Management Life
Cycle
LESSON 2

7
 Lesson Objectives
 Review the relationship between Primavera and the
Project Management Life Cycle
 Identify the five process groups in the Project
Management Life Cycle
Lesson 2

7
 Project Management Life Cycle Initiating
process
group

 Project management is the

process of achieving set goals
Planning
within the constraints of process
group
time, budget, and staffing
restrictions.
 Lessons in your curriculum Executing
process
may cover some or all of the group

processes in the Project

Management Life Cycle, as
Controlling
indicated below: process
group
 Each process can be broken
down into these steps:
Lesson 2

Closing
process
group

8
 Project
information

Project Management
Initiating Organization
process commitment

Life Cycle (continued)

Te a m
development

Scope definition

Activity
definition

Planning
process
Schedule Resource and
development cost planning

Project plan
development

Ye s

Information
distribution
Executing
process
Project plan
execution

Performance
reporting No

Controlling Are there

changes?
process
No

Project
Lesson 2

complete?

Ye s

Project
closeout

Closing Administrative
process closeout

Project
completion

9
 Initiating Process Group
Initiating
process
 Steps in the Initiating process group group

include:
 Collect project information. Planning
process
 Obtain organizational commitment. group

 Develop the team.

Executing
process
group

Controlling
process
group
Lesson 2

Closing
process
group

10
 Planning Process Group
Initiating
process
 Steps in the Planning process group

group include:
 Establish project objectives Planning
process
and scope of work. group
 Define the work.
 Determine the timing.
Executing
 Establish resource process
group
requirements/availability.
 Establish a cost budget.
 Evaluate, optimize, and Controlling
process
create baseline plan. group
Lesson 2

Closing
process
group

11
 Executing Process Group
Initiating
process
 Steps in the Executing group

process group include:

 Distribute information. Planning
process
 Track work in progress and group

actual costs.
Executing
process
group

Controlling
process
group
Lesson 2

Closing
process
group

12
 Controlling Process Group
Initiating
process
 Steps in the Controlling group

process group include:

 Analyze and evaluate the Planning
process
project. group
 Recommend necessary
action.
Executing
 Modify the current project process
group
with realistic data.
 Re-forecast the schedule.
 Communicate project Controlling
process
performance to the project group
Lesson 2

team.

Closing
process
group

13
 Closing Process Group
Initiating
process
 Steps in the Closing process group

group include:
 Document lessons learned. Planning
process
 Determine if project can be group

used as a methodology.
 Deliver product to client or
Executing
stakeholders. process
group
 Back-up or archive project
files.
Controlling
process
group
Lesson 2

Closing
process
group

14
Lesson 2

14
Data, Navigating, and Layouts
LESSON 3

17
 Lesson Objectives
 Describe enterprise and project-specific data
 Log in
 Open an existing project
 Navigate in the Home window and Activities window
 Open an existing layout
 Customize a layout
 Save a layout
Lesson 3

17
 Enterprise and Project-Specific Data
 Before logging in to Primavera, it is important to
understand that a project consists of a combination of
enterprise data and project-specific data.
Lesson 3

18
 Enterprise and Project-Specific Data
(cont.)

 Enterprise Data
 Enterprise data provides the global structure needed to
manage multiple projects. It is available to all projects
across the organization and provides the structure
necessary for centralized project and resource
management. Enterprise data is usually defined and
maintained by a system administrator.
Lesson 3

18
 Enterprise Data
Project
Structure OBS

Resource
Admin codes
categories &
preferences
Lesson 3

Project
codes
Roles Cost Resources
accounts
9
 Enterprise and Project-Specific Data
(cont.)

 Enterprise Data
 Examples of enterprise data:
 Enterprise Project Structure (EPS)
 Project codes
 Resource codes
 Admin categories and preferences
 Resources
 Cost accounts
Lesson 3

18
 Enterprise and Project-Specific Data
(cont.)

 Project-Specific Data
 Project-specific data is only available to the project in
which it is defined. Project managers define project-
specific data to further control their projects.
 Dates
 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
 Activities
 Activity relationships
 Baselines
 Expenses
 Risks
Lesson 3

 Thresholds and issues

 Work products and documents
 Project Web site
19
 Thresholds & Issues
Project-Specific
Activities
Data

AS EF
Baseline/Target
AS EF
ES
EF

Dates Work Products &

Documents
WBS
Lesson 3

Expenses
Risks Project Web Site 19
19
 Enterprise and Project-Specific Data
(cont.)

 Enterprise/Project-Specific Data
 The following types of data are enterprise as well as
project-specific:
 Calendars
 Reports
 Activity codes
Lesson 3

20
 Enterprise/Project-
Specific Data

2000
Lesson 3

Activity
Calendars Codes

Reports 20
19
 Logging In
 Type a valid Login Name and Password to log in to
Primavera. If you do not know your Login
Name/Password, contact your system administrator.
Lesson 3

21
 Home Window
 The Home window is the starting point for navigation. It
provides quick access to enterprise data and project
data.
 To the left of the Home window is the Directory bar,
which lists the 12 windows within Primavera. Each
window provides specific functionality to help you
manage projects. Click an item in the Directory bar to
access it.
 The table below lists key navigation items in the Home
window. Numbers in the table correspond to those in the
screenshot.
Lesson 3

22
 Home Window
Item Functionality

1. Title bar Displays current application and name of open

projects.
2. Menu bar Click to perform functions in Primavera.

3. Directory bar Click to display Primavera windows.

4. Navigation bar Move between open windows, toggle the

Directory bar, and open Help.
5. Status bar Displays user's Login Name, data date of open
projects, access mode, and current baseline.
Lesson 3

22
 Navigation Bar
 Use the Navigation bar to move back and forward to
previously accessed windows; return to the Home
window; display and hide the Directory bar; and to
access Help for the current window.
 The Navigation bar, which is turned on by default, can
be toggled on/off in the View menu by clicking Toolbars,
Navigation Bar.
Lesson 3

23
 Opening an Existing Project
 The Open Project dialog box lists all the projects you
have access to open.
 All projects under the node are opened.
 Open multiple projects under different nodes.
 Press Control-click to select more than one project.
Lesson 3

24
 Opening an Existing Project (cont.)
 Access Modes
 You have the option to select an access mode prior to
opening a project:
 Shared - Multiple users can view, input, and change data. This
is the default setting.
 Read Only - You can view data but cannot input or change
data.
 Exclusive - The current user is the only user who can edit data
on these projects. Other users can access these projects in Read
Only mode.
Lesson 3

25
 Opening an Existing Project (cont.)
 Activities Window
 The Activities window is used to create, view, and edit
activities for open projects. The table below lists key
navigation items in the Activities window. Numbers in
the table correspond to those in the screenshot.
Lesson 3

26
 Activities Window
Item Functionality

1. Toolbar Displays icons that allow you to change look of

layout.
2. Activity Table Displays activity information in spreadsheet
format.
3. Gantt Chart Provides graphical display of activity progress
over time.
4. Command bar Displays options for adding or removing activity
data.
5. Layout Options bar Displays menu of available options for Activities
window.
Lesson 3

6. Vertical Split bar Drag bar to hide/show more information in each

pane.

26
 Activities Window (cont.)
Item Functionality

7. Horizontal Split bar Hide or show more information in top/bottom

layouts.
8. Activity Details View/edit detailed information for selected
activity.
Lesson 3

26
 Layouts
 A layout is a customizable view of information,
combining all the visual elements that appear on the
screen. Layouts are available in the Projects, WBS,
Activities, Resource Assignments, and Tracking
windows.
Lesson 3

27
 Layouts (cont.)
 Activity Layouts
 The Activities window provides the option of viewing
data in top/bottom layouts.
 Choose one of the following to show on top:
 Activity Table
 Gantt Chart
 Activity Usage Spreadsheet
 Activity Network
Lesson 3

27
 Layouts (cont.)
 Activity Layouts
 Choose one of the following to show on bottom:
 Activity Details
 Activity Table
 Gantt Chart
 Activity Usage Spreadsheet
 Resource Usage Spreadsheet
 Activity Usage Profile
 Resource Usage Profile
 Trace Logic
Lesson 3

27
 Layouts (cont.)
 Opening an Existing Activity Layout
 A variety of layouts are available to present activity data
from different perspectives. You can create user-specific
layouts and project-specific layouts, or use global layouts
provided by your company.
 After selecting a layout, you can click either Apply or
Open.
 Apply - Displays layout but keeps Open Layout dialog box
open.
 Open - Displays layout and closes Open Layout dialog box.
 You will select a different layout and then click Open,
Lesson 3

which displays the layout and closes the Open Layout

dialog box.
28
 Layouts (cont.)
 Gantt Chart
 The Classic WBS Layout displays a Gantt Chart in the
top layout and Activity Details in the bottom layout.
 The Gantt Chart is divided into two sections: Activity
Table and Bar Area:
 Activity Table - Displays activity data in columns.
 Bar Area - Provides a graphical display of activity progress over
the duration of the project.
Lesson 3

30
 Layouts (cont.)
 Activity Usage Spreadsheet
 The Activity Usage Spreadsheet displays unit, cost, or
earned value data by activity over time. Use this type of
layout to review per period and rolled up activity
resource/cost data.
 You can customize the timescale of the Activity Usage
Spreadsheet:
Lesson 3

31
 Layouts (cont.)
 Activity Network
 Use the Activity Network to view the relationships
between activities and the logical flow of the activities in
the project:
 Left pane - Displays the WBS hierarchy.
 Right pane - Shows a graphical display of activities and their
relationships.
Lesson 3

32
 Layouts (cont.)
 Activity Table
 The Activity Table enables you to see project data in
spreadsheet format. You also can modify the columns
displayed in the Activity Table to meet your needs.
 You can display the Activity Table on the entire screen if
you want to analyze data solely in a tabular format.
Lesson 3

33
 Customizing a Layout
 The Activities window can be customized and saved as a
layout. Saving layouts for future use allows you to
quickly retrieve information.
 The Layout Options bar is the centralized menu for layout
customization.
 The following is a list of layout elements that are customizable:
 Bars
 Columns
 Timescale
 Table font and colors
 Row height
Filters
Lesson 3

 Activity grouping and sorting

 Top/bottom layouts

34
 Customizing a Layout (cont.)
 Selecting Columns
 The Columns dialog box enables you to select columns to
display in the Activity Table and specify the order in
which they appear:
 Available Options section - Lists data items in groups or in list.
 Selected Options section - Lists items you have chosen to
display.
 Single arrows - Move highlighted data items to the other
section.
 Double arrows - Move all data items to the other section.
 Up/down arrows - Configure the order of the data items.
Lesson 3

 Click Edit Column to edit the selected item's title and

choose its alignment in the display.

35
 Customizing a Layout (cont.)
 Using Hint Help in Columns Dialog Box
 You can use Hint Help to view a definition for any data
item in the column list.
Lesson 3

36
 Displaying Activity Details
 Activity Details displays detailed information for the
activity highlighted in the Activity Table or Activity
Network.
Lesson 3

37
 Displaying Activity Details (cont.)
 Selecting Details Tabs
 The tabs displayed in Activity Details can be customized.
Lesson 3

38
 Saving Layouts
 Layouts can be saved and shared with other users to
facilitate project communication. Use the Save Layout
dialog box to save a layout in the Activities, WBS,
Projects, Assignments, or Tracking windows:
 Layout, Save - Saves changes to the existing layout.
 Layout, Save As - Prompts you to save the layout with a new
name.
 Current User - Only the user creating the layout will have access to
it in the future.
 All Users - All licensed users will have access to the layout (Global).
 Another User - A specified user will have access to the layout. Note,
however, that the current user will not have access to the layout.
Lesson 3

39
 Saving Layouts (cont.)
 Project - Apply the layout to any project that is currently
open in Primavera. Though project-specific layouts can
be applied to multiple projects, you can only select one
project at a time in the Layout Save As dialog box. After
a project-specific layout is saved, it can be viewed in the
Project band in the Open Layout dialog box. Project-
specific layout offers two advantages:
Lesson 3

39
 Closing a Project
 Close the project when you are finished working with it.
You are prompted to verify that you want to close the
project.
 Closing the project takes you back to the Home window.
Lesson 3

41
 Closing a Project (cont.)
 Key Concepts
 The Home window is a starting point for navigating in
Primavera.
 Use the Navigation bar for quick access to Help, to display the
Directory bar, and to move forward and backward to previously
accessed windows.
 Choose to open a project in Read Only, Shared, or Exclusive
mode.
 A project consists of enterprise and project-specific data.
 View activity data in the Activities window and customize the
top and bottom layouts.
 Use layouts to easily view data specific to your needs. You can
Lesson 3

customize layouts by selecting columns and by specifying

top/bottom layouts.

42
 Closing a Project (cont.)
 Key Concepts
 Activity Details, arranged in tabs, displays detailed information
for the activity highlighted in the Activity Table or Activity
Network.
Lesson 3

42
Enterprise Project Structure
LESSON 4

43
 Lesson Objectives
 Describe the components that comprise the Enterprise
Project Structure
 View the EPS
Lesson 4

43
 Enterprise Project Structure
 The Enterprise Project Structure (EPS) is a hierarchy
used to organize projects.
 The EPS is made of roots and nodes.
 Each root in the EPS can be subdivided into many nodes.
 Nodes represent different levels within the structure.
 All projects must be included in a node.
 Each node can contain an unlimited number of projects.
 Projects always represent the lowest level of the hierarchy.
 Placement of a project in the hierarchy determines the summary
level in which it is included.
Lesson 4

44
 Enterprise Project Structure

Level 1
EPS
Root

Level 2
EPS EPS
Node Node

Project
Level 3
EPS EPS EPS F
Node Node Node

Project Project Project Project Project

Lesson 4

A B C D E

45
 Opening the EPS
 You can use the Enterprise Project Structure dialog box
to define the EPS.
 The three fields to enter when adding an EPS node are:
 EPS ID - Identifies the selected EPS node.
 EPS Name - Description of the selected EPS node.
 Responsible Manager - Use this field to select an OBS
(Organizational Breakdown Structure) element to associate
with the selected level of the EPS.
Lesson 4

45
 Benefits of the EPS
 The EPS offers many benefits, including the ability to:
 View project priorities, scope, budgets, and resources across
the entire project structure or within a specific node.
 Manage projects separately while retaining the ability to roll up
and summarize data across multiple projects.
 Each node acts as a master project, rolling up all "child" nodes and
projects.
 A node can be opened to view all detailed activity information from
the "member" projects.
 View resource allocation across projects.
 Assign security at any level of the project structure to provide
users with appropriate access to project information. For
Lesson 4

example, Tim Harris can view only the Construction node and
its children.

46
 Signature Corporation’s Enterprise Project
Structure

Level 1
Signature
Corporation

Level 2
Internal IT External IT
Construction
Projects Projects

Level 3
Capirini Hawthorne State
Corporation Industries DOT

Level 4
Apex City of Auto Project
Highway
Construction Philadelphia Plant Reviews
Lesson 4

Office
Automated Conveyor
Building
System System
Addition Plant Plant Highway
(Auto) (Conv)
(Bldg) Engineering Construction Construction

46
 Key Concepts
 The EPS is a hierarchy that represents the management and
organization of projects in your company.
 In the EPS, the root is the top level and can be subdivided into
nodes. Each node represents a level in the project structure
that can hold another node or a project. Projects represent the
lowest level of the hierarchy.
 The EPS enables you to view project data across the entire
project structure or within a specific node.
Lesson 4

47
Creating a Project
LESSON 5

49
 Lesson Objectives
 Create a project
 Navigate in the Projects window
 View and modify information in Project Details
Lesson 5

49
 Creating a Project
 A project can be created using a variety of methods:
 Create a New Project wizard:
 Create the project.
 Create the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
 Add activities.
 Assign resources and costs.
 Project Architect:
 Create the project from a methodology (template).
 Review and adjust the WBS.
 Review and adjust activities.
 Assign resources and costs.
Lesson 5

50
 Creating a Project (cont.)
 Import a file:
 Import a project using the following file formats:
 Review and adjust the WBS.
 Review and adjust activities.
 Assign resources and costs.
 Copy/paste:
 Select elements of an existing project you want to copy to a new
project.
Lesson 5

50
 Create a New Project Wizard
 The Create a New Project wizard can assist you in
creating a project.
Lesson 5

51
 Create a New Project Wizard (cont.)
 Entering Project Name
 The name of the project is Office Building Addition. You
can shorten the name to create the Project ID, BLDG.
 Project ID - Type a unique ID in this field.
 Project Name - Type a new name in this field. (The Project
Name field does not require a unique name.)
Lesson 5

52
 Create a New Project Wizard (cont.)
 Entering Project Start and End Dates
 Use the calendar to select Planned Start and Must Finish
By dates for the project.
 The Must Finish By field is not mandatory. You can
assign a project Must Finish By date at any point in the
project life cycle in the Dates tab in Project Details.
 To navigate in the calendar:
 When you launch the calendar, the current month/year is
displayed. To navigate to a different year, click the Month/Year
section in the calendar, and then use arrows to scroll to the
desired year.
Lesson 5

 Click the desired month and date, and then click Select.

53
 Create a New Project Wizard (cont.)
 Entering Responsible Manager
 The Responsible Manager, selected from the
Organization Breakdown Structure (OBS), is the
individual responsible for the work.
 The OBS is a hierarchical arrangement of an
organization's project management structure, either as
roles or individuals. The OBS can be configured to
represent a detailed organizational breakdown (with
employee names) or a more general framework where
departments, teams, or types of responsibility are
modeled in the structure.
Lesson 5

54
 Create a New Project Wizard (cont.)
 Selecting Assignment Rate Type
 Specify the Assignment Rate Type for new resource
assignments. The default rate type determines which
price/unit is set on a resource assignment. Values in the
Rate Type drop-down list reflect rate types defined in the
Rate Types tab in Admin Preferences.
Lesson 5

55
 Create a New Project Wizard (cont.)
 Running Project Architect
 Project Architect helps you to create a project from an
existing methodology or project template. You will create
the Office Building Addition project anew, without the
use of a methodology.
Lesson 5

56
 Projects Window
 The project has been created and opened.
 To view high-level information about the project,
navigate to the Projects window, which displays the
projects within the EPS that you can access. You can
also:
 Open, create, and save project layouts.
 Group projects by the Enterprise Project Structure, project
codes, or other project-related items.
 Filter projects.
 Modify column data.
 The table below lists key navigation items in the Projects
Lesson 5

window. Numbers in the table correspond to those in the

screenshot.

57
 Project Details
 Project Details is located in the bottom layout of the
Projects window. It can be used to define the project
properties and defaults that are applied to the selected
project.
Lesson 5

59
 Project Details (cont.)
 General Tab
 The General tab enables you to view or modify general
information about the selected project. Project ID,
Project Name, and Responsible Manager can be set
when you create the project, or you can change them
here. The remaining fields are set by default.
 Fields in the General tab:
 Project ID - Short, unique identifier for the project.
 Project Name - Name of the project.
Lesson 5

60
 Project Details (cont.)
 General Tab
 Status - Indicates project status based on the table below:

Status Indicates project is ...

Planned Being analyzed before establishing permanent

plan.
Active Currently being worked on.
Inactive Completed or on hold.
Lesson 5

What-if Used as test scenario.

60
 Project Details (cont.)
 General Tab
 Responsible Manager - Individual, selected from the OBS, who
is responsible for the project.
 Risk Level - Indicates the overall risk in performing the project.
You can use the risk level to organize, filter, and report on
projects within the project structure. You can enter a value
between Very High and Very Low; the default is Medium.
 Leveling Priority - User-defined rank of the project against all
other projects, based on its importance to the organization.
You can enter a value between 1 and 100. The highest rank is 1;
the default is 10.
 Check-out Status - Indicates whether the project is checked in
Lesson 5

or checked out.

60
 Project Details (cont.)
 General Tab
 Checked Out By - Displays the user that checked out the
project.
 Date Checked Out - Indicates the date and time the user
checked out the project.
 Project Web Site URL - Displays the project's Web site address.
Lesson 5

60
 Project Details (cont.)
 Dates Tab
 The Dates tab enables you to edit date information for
the selected project. The Planned Start and Must Finish
By dates can be set when you create the project, or you
can change them here.
 Fields in the Dates tab:
 Planned Start - Planned start date of the project.
 Data Date - Date used as the starting point for schedule
calculations.
 Must Finish By - Date indicating the desired project end date.
 Finish - Non-editable field indicating the latest early finish date
Lesson 5

calculated when the project was last scheduled.

 Actual Start and Actual Finish - Non-editable field indicating
the actual start and finish dates of the project.
61
 Project Details (cont.)
 Dates Tab
 Anticipated Start and Anticipated Finish - Expected dates that
can be entered while planning the project at a high level.
Lesson 5

61
 Project Details (cont.)
 Notebook Tab
 The Notebook tab enables you to write, view, or edit
project notes such as the project's purpose, core
requirements, or other project-specific details.
 Fields in the Notebook tab:
 Notebook Topic - List of topics assigned to the selected
node/project.
 Detail - User-defined description of the selected topic. You can
use HTML editing features, including formatting text, inserting
pictures, copying, pasting, and adding hyperlinks.
Lesson 5

62
 Project Details (cont.)
 Codes Tab
 The Codes tab enables you to assign project code values
to the selected project.
 Project codes allow you to group the projects in the EPS
to specific categories, such as location or division.
 Unlimited hierarchical project codes are supported.
 Allows for summarization of large amounts of information
across projects.
Lesson 5

64
 Project Details (cont.)
 Type Ahead and Search in Dialog Boxes
 The Search field in dialog boxes throughout Primavera
offers a faster alternative to scrolling through a long list
of values:
 Search - Type in the Search field and then press Enter to search
for a value.
 Type ahead - Type in the Search field and, as you type, values
that match begin with the letters you have typed are displayed
in the dialog box.
 Below, you will type ahead to find the project code value
Comm-Commercial.
Lesson 5

65
 Project Details (cont.)
 Defaults Tab
 The Defaults tab is divided into two sections:
 Defaults for New Activities - Indicates the settings that will be
used when new activities are added to the project. Note that
changing these settings will not affect existing activities.
 Auto-numbering Defaults - Sets how new activities will be
numbered in your project.
 When the Increment Activity ID based on selected activity field is
marked, the prefix or suffix of the selected activity is applied to the
activity that is being added.
Lesson 5

66
 Project Details (cont.)
 Defaults Tab
 For the activities in the Office Building Addition project,
you will set the prefix to BA, and verify the suffix as 1000
and the increment as 10. When adding activities, the first
activity ID will be numbered BA1000, the second activity
ID will be BA1010, etc. This numbering structure relates
activities to the project, which is especially helpful when
viewing activities from different projects.
Lesson 5

66
 Project Details (cont.)
 Settings Tab
 The Settings tab consists of three sections:
 Summarized Data - Identifies the date and the level to which
the project was last summarized.
 Project Settings - Sets the character used to separate WBS
levels; identifies the month in which the fiscal year begins; and
specifies the baseline used in earned value calculations.
 Define Critical Activities - Identifies which activities are
displayed as critical, either longest path or a value of Total
Float.
Lesson 5

67
 Project Details (cont.)
 Calculations Tab
 Use this tab to specify how to calculate cost and resource
use when you update activities. Two fields of note:
 Recalculate Actual Units and Cost when Duration % Complete
Changes - Mark to calculate actual units and costs as Actual
(units or costs) = Budgeted (units or costs) * Duration %
Complete
 Primavera performs these calculations whenever you update the
Duration % complete.
 Values you specify override the application's calculated values. If
you clear the checkbox, the application does not estimate actuals
and the actual fields remain blank unless you specify values.
Lesson 5

68
 Project Details (cont.)
 Calculations Tab
 Link Actual and Actual This Period Units and Cost - Mark this
checkbox to recalculate actual or actual this period units and
costs when one of these values is updated. This option is
selected by default.
Lesson 5

68
 Project Details (cont.)
 Key Concepts
 You can create a project with the New Project wizard, import a
file, copy an existing file, or use Project Architect to create a
project from an existing template.
 Once the project is created, use the Projects window to view
high-level information for projects you can access.
 Use Project Details tabs in the Projects window to define
default settings and properties for the selected project, such as
the anticipated start and finish dates.
Lesson 5

69
 Course Scenario

Office
Building
Addition

Design and Exterior Interior

Foundation Structure Mechanicals
Engineering Finishes Finishes

Plumbing and
Plumbing and Floor and
Elevator HVAC Lighting Carpentry Paint
Electrical Carpet
Fixtures

Doors and
Brick Roof
Windows
Lesson 5

70
Creating a Work Breakdown
Structure
LESSON 6

71
 Lesson Objectives
 Define a Work Breakdown Structure
 Create multiple levels of a WBS hierarchy
Lesson 6

71
 Work Breakdown Structure
 The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a hierarchical
arrangement of the products and services produced
during, and by, a project. It enables you to divide a
project into meaningful and logical pieces for the
purpose of planning and control.
 Each project has a unique WBS hierarchy.
 The root level of the WBS is equal to the Project ID and Project
Name.
 Elements within the WBS have a child/parent relationship,
which means that you can roll up and summarize information
from the lower levels.
Lesson 6

72
 Work Breakdown Structure

Project A/
Root / Level 1 WBS

Level 2
WBS.1 WBS.2 WBS.3

Level 3
WBS.1.1 WBS.1.2 WBS.1.3
Lesson 6

72
 Viewing WBS Elements
 When a project is created, a root level WBS element is
added with the same ID and name as the project.
Lesson 6

73
 Creating the WBS Hierarchy
 WBS elements added to the root level element are
automatically indented to form the second level of the
hierarchy.
 When you create a new WBS element, it is indented as a
"child" of the WBS element that is currently selected.
 If you add a WBS element to the wrong level or in the
wrong order, you can use the indentation keys located on
the Command bar to adjust the structure of the WBS
hierarchy.
 The "child" WBS inherits attributes from the "parent"
Lesson 6

WBS. This is illustrated below, when the WBS element

you create, Elevator, inherits the responsible manager of
its parent, Mechanicals.
74
 Creating the WBS Hierarchy (cont.)
 You can determine the level that WBS elements group to
by right-clicking in the WBS window and choosing
Collapse To.
 Right-click in the WBS window and click Expand All or
Collapse All to expand or collapse elements of the WBS.
Lesson 6

77
 Key Concepts
 The Work Breakdown Structure is a hierarchical arrangement
of the products and services produced during and by a project.
 The highest level of the WBS is the project, and the lowest level
consists of the individual activities required for the
deliverables.
 Create the WBS in the Work Breakdown Structure window.
Use the indentation keys to form various levels in the WBS.
Lesson 6

80
Adding Activities
LESSON 7

81
 Lesson Objectives
 Describe an activity and its components
 Describe activity types
 Add activities
 Add a Notebook topic to an activity
 Add steps to an activity
 Assign activity codes to activities
Lesson 7

81
 Activities
 Activities are the fundamental work elements of a
project. They are the lowest level of a WBS and the
smallest subdivision of work that directly concerns the
project manager.
 Most detailed work unit tracked in a project schedule.
 Contains all information about the work to be performed.
 Also known as a task, item, event, or work package.
Lesson 7

82
 Activity Components
Expenses OBS & WBS
Role &
Activity ID &
Resource
Description
Assignments

Constraints Activity Type

Steps Duration

Activity

Notebook/
Dates
Feedback
Lesson 7

Calendar
Relationships
Assignment

Duration &
Percent
WPs & Docs
Activity Codes Complete
Types
82
 Adding Activities
 Use the Activities window to create, view, and modify
activities for the selected project. To add an activity to a
project, perform one of the following actions:
 In the Command bar, click Add.
 In the Edit menu, click Add.
 Press Insert on the keyboard.
 Right-click and click Add.
Lesson 7

83
 The New Activity Wizard
 The New Activity wizard walks you through the process
of adding an activity. Once you become familiar with the
process, you can disable the wizard in User Preferences
and manually add activities to the project.
Lesson 7

84
 Adding Activities via Activity Wizard
 While in the Activities window, you can click Add in the
Command bar to add new activities. The New Activity
wizard appears only when you click Add in the
Command bar.
 Type a unique Activity ID and Activity Name, for each
activity that you add. You will assign the activity to the
Design and Engineering WBS element.
Lesson 7

85
 Adding Activities via Activity Wizard
(cont.)

 Assigning Activity Type

 Activity Type controls how an activity's duration dates
are calculated.
 Select the Activity Type according to the activity's
function in the project and the calendar that should be
used for the activity during scheduling.
 Start Milestone
 Finish Milestone
 Task Dependent
 Resource Dependent
Lesson 7

 Level of Effort
 WBS Summary

87
 Adding Activities via Activity Wizard
(cont.)

 Activity Type:
 Start Milestone - This type is typically used to mark
the beginning of a phase or to communicate project
deliverables.
 Zero-duration activity.
 Only has a start date.
 You can assign constraints, steps, expenses, work products,
and documents.
 You can assign a primary resource.
 You cannot assign roles.
Lesson 7

87
 Adding Activities via Activity Wizard
(cont.)

 Activity Type:
 Finish Milestone - This type is typically used to mark
the end of a phase or to communicate project
deliverables.
 Zero-duration activity.
 Only has a finish date.
 You can assign constraints, steps, expenses, work products,
and documents.
 You can assign a primary resource.
 You cannot assign roles.
Lesson 7

87
 Adding Activities via Activity Wizard
(cont.)

 Activity Type:
 Task Dependent - This type is typically used when the
work needs to be accomplished in a given time frame,
regardless of the assigned resources' availability.
 The activity's resources are scheduled to work according to the
activity calendar.
 Duration is determined by the assigned calendar's workweek.
Lesson 7

87
 Example of how Primavera calculates the duration when
activity type is task dependent.

Activity Calendar Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Resource Calendar 1

Resource Calendar 2

Resource Calendar 3

Task Dependent X X

2 Day (X) Activity

Lesson 7
 Adding Activities via Activity Wizard
(cont.)

 Activity Type:
 Resource Dependent - This type is typically used
when multiple resources assigned to the same activity
can work independently.
 The activity's resources are scheduled according to the
individual resource's calendar.
 Duration is determined by the availability of the resources
assigned to work on the activity.
Lesson 7

87
 Example of how Primavera calculates the duration when
activity type is resource dependent.

Activity Calendar Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Resource Calendar 1

Resource Calendar 2

Resource Calendar 3

Task Dependent X X
Resource Dependent X X X

2 Day (X) Activity

Lesson 7
 Adding Activities via Activity Wizard
(cont.)

 Assigning Activity Type

 Level of Effort - This type is typically used for ongoing
tasks dependent on other activities.
 Duration is determined by its predecessor and successor
activities, and its assigned calendar.
 Examples include clerical work, a security guard and meetings.
 You cannot assign constraints. (Constraints are discussed in a
future lesson).
Lesson 7

88
 Adding Activities via Activity Wizard
(cont.)

 Assigning Activity Type

 WBS Summary - This type is used to summarize a
WBS level.
 The WBS summary activity comprises a group of activities that
share a common WBS level.
 The dates calculated on a WBS summary activity are based on
the earliest start date of the activities in the group and the
latest finish date of these activities.
 The WBS summary activity duration is calculated based on its
assigned calendar.
 You cannot assign constraints to WBS summary activities.
Lesson 7

88
 Adding Activities via Activity Wizard
(cont.)

 Completing the New Activity Wizard

 You have just added your first activity. You will not use
the wizard to help you create additional activities.
Lesson 7

89
 Adding an Activity via Activity Details
 You can use the Activity Details tabs to add an activity,
and then enter additional information about the activity.
When adding an activity, first select either the WBS band
in which the activity will reside, or select an existing
activity in the WBS band.
Lesson 7

90
 Adding an Activity via Activity Details
(cont.)

 General Tab
 Use the General tab to assign basic information about
the activity, including Activity Type, discussed earlier in
this lesson.
Lesson 7

91
 Adding an Activity via Activity Details
(cont.)

 Status Tab
 Use the Status tab to define the selected activity's
duration, constraint, Start and Finish dates, labor and
nonlabor units and costs, and material costs. You can
also use the Status tab to view the selected activity's
float, actuals, and completion percentages.
Lesson 7

92
 Adding an Activity via Activity Details
(cont.)

 Notebook Tab
 The Notebook tab enables you to assign notes to an
activity. Notebook topics are typically instructions or
descriptions that further describe the activity according
to specific categories of information.
Lesson 7

93
 Adding an Activity via Columns
 You can use the columns in the Activity Table to add an
activity and then enter additional information about it.
Lesson 7

94
 Adding Steps to an Activity
 Activity steps allow you create a checklist for the activity,
and then track the completion of each step. Often, steps
provide a list of procedures required to complete the
activity and provide extra guidance to resources assigned
to the activity.
 Assign an unlimited number of steps per activity.
 Steps can be marked completed in Primavera and by the
primary resource in timesheets.
 Steps do not have duration estimates or dates.
 Each step can have an additional explanation in the text area
on the right side of the Steps tab.
Lesson 7

 The Review and Approve Designs activity can be broken

down into two steps.

97
 Step Templates
 Activity step templates enable you to define a group of
steps common to multiple activities and then assign the
step template to activities.
 If a commonly used step or set of steps have already
been defined for an activity, you can convert the steps to
a template.
Lesson 7

99
 Activity Codes
 Activity codes enable you to classify and categorize
activities according to your organizational and project
needs.
 You can use activity codes to view and roll up activities
in the Activity Table; build reports in the Report wizard
or Report Editor; organize a layout by grouping activities
into specific categories; and select and summarize
activities. Examples of activity codes include Phase,
Area, Site, and Division.
Lesson 7

100
 Activity Codes (cont.)
 Activity codes can be defined in three levels:
 Global-level - Available to all activities in the database.
 Create an unlimited number of global-level activity codes.
 Organize activities within a project or across the project structure.
 EPS-level - Available to all activities within the EPS node and
its children.
 Create an unlimited number of EPS-level activity codes.
 Organize activities within a project or across a portion of the EPS.
 Project-level - Available to activities only in the project in
which the code is created.
 Create up to 500 activity codes per project.
 Filter and organize activities based on unique, project-specific
Lesson 7

requirements.

100
 Activity Codes (cont.)
 Each activity code (global, EPS, and project) may contain an
unlimited number of activity code values, which can be organized in
a hierarchy.

Type Can be assigned to Number

Global- Activities in all projects Unlimited

level
EPS-level Activities within EPS in which code was Unlimited
created, and EPS children
Lesson 7

Project- Activities in project in which code was 500

level created

100
 Activity Codes (cont.)
 Assigning Activity Codes to an Activity
 Assign activity code values in the Activities window.
 Add a column for the activity code in the Activity Table.
 Use the Codes tab in Activity Details.
Lesson 7

100
 Activity Codes (cont.)
 Assigning Activity Codes to Multiple Activities
 Use the Command bar to assign an activity code to
multiple activities.
Lesson 7

102
 Calendar Assignments
 Calendars can be created and assigned to each activity
and resource. Calendar assignments are used to schedule
activities and level resources.
 An unlimited number of calendars can be created.
 The Activity Type determines whether the activity calendar or
resource calendar is used during scheduling.
Lesson 7

103
 Calendar Assignments (cont.)
 Calendar Types
 There are three calendar types:
 Global calendar
 Contains calendars that can be used by all projects in the database.
 Available for all resources and activities in the database.
 Resource calendar
 Contains separate calendars for each resource.
 Project calendar
 Contains a separate pool of calendars for each project.
 Available for the current project only.
Lesson 7

103
 Calendar Assignments (cont.)
 Calendar Assignments
 Use the Select Activity Calendar dialog box to select the
calendar that is used for an activity in the project.
 For example, in this project, the default calendar
assigned to all activities is theStandard 5 Day Workweek.
You will view the available calendars on the Design
Building Addition activity.
Lesson 7

104
Creating Relationships
LESSON 8

109
 Lesson Objectives
 Create a network logic diagram
 Differentiate between the four relationship types
 Create relationships in the Activity Network
 Create relationships in Activity Details
Lesson 8

109
 Network Logic Diagram
 A network logic diagram is a logical representation of all
the activities in a project showing their dependency
relationships.
Lesson 8

110
 Network Logic Diagram (cont.)
 Precedence Diagramming Method
 Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) is a technique
for creating network logic diagrams.
 A box or rectangle represents an activity.
 Lines with arrows connect the boxes and represent the logical
relationships between the activities.
 Predecessor - Controls the start or finish of another activity.
 Successor - Depends on the start or finish of another activity.
 Start with either the first activity in the network and enter each
successor, or start with the last activity in the network and
enter each predecessor.
Lesson 8

110
 Network Logic Diagram (cont.)
 Precedence Diagramming Method

Predecessor Successor to
Lesson 8

to Act. B Act. B

110
 Relationship Types
 There are four relationship types. In the following
diagrams, activity A represents the predecessor and
activity B represents the successor.
 Finish-to-Start (FS) - When A finishes, B can start.
 Start-to-Start (SS) - When A starts, B can start.
 Finish-to-Finish (FF) - When A finishes, B can finish.
 Start-to-Finish - When A starts, B can finish.

Typical example: Finish to Start:

A B
Lesson 8

First Activity Second Activity

111
 Relationships with Lag
 Lag specifies an offset or delay between an activity and
its successor. It can be added to any type of relationship
and have a positive or a negative value.
 Lag is scheduled based on the calendar selected in the
General tab in Schedule Options dialog box. (In the
Tools menu, click Schedule, and then click Options to
access the Schedule Options dialog box.)
 There are four calendar options for scheduling lag:
 Predecessor activity calendar
 Successor activity calendar
Lesson 8

 24-hour calendar
 Project default calendar

112
 Relationships with Lag (cont.)
 Two examples of relationships with lag:
 Finish-to-Start with Lag - The following example shows that
the Construct Building Foundation activity must be finished for
seven days before the Construct Building Exterior and
Structure activity can start. (FS7 indicates there is a finish-to-
start relationship with 7 days of lag.)

A B
FS 7d

Construct Building Construct Building

Foundation Exterior and Structure
Lesson 8

112
 Relationships with Lag (cont.)
 Start-to-Start with Lag - The following example shows that the
Install Interior Belt Conveyors activity can start five days after
the Construct Building Exterior and Structure activity starts.
(SS5 indicates there is a start-to-start relationship with 5 days of
lag.)

A
Construct Building
Exterior and Structure
Lesson 8

SS 5d B

Install Interior Belt

Conveyors

112
 Creating Relationships in the Activity
Network
 The Activity Network is useful when sequencing
activities because it displays the activities graphically as
you create relationships.
Lesson 8

113
 Creating Relationships in the Activity
Network (cont.)
 Creating a Start-to-Start Relationship
 You can create a relationship between activities by
clicking and dragging your mouse between the two
activities.
 The left edge of the activity represents the start of the activity.
 The right edge of the activity represents the finish of the
activity.
Lesson 8

114
 Creating Relationships in Activity
Details
 You can also use the Relationships tab to create
relationships. When creating a relationship in Activity
Details, the default relationship type is Finish-to-Start.
 Activities in the Assign Successors dialog box can be
grouped and sorted in a variety of ways, including by
EPS and by List. In the Display Options bar, click Group
and Sort By to view options.
Lesson 8

115
 Creating Relationships in Activity
Details (cont.)
 Assigning Lag
 Although the default relationship type is Finish-to-Start
with zero days of lag, you can use the columns on the
Relationships tab to make adjustments to the
relationship type or to assign lag.
Lesson 8

117
 Viewing Relationships in Gantt Chart
 You can also view/modify relationships in the Activity
Table and Gantt Chart.
 Activity Table - Displays the Predecessors and Successors
columns.
Lesson 8

118
 Viewing Relationships in Gantt Chart
(cont.)

 Key Concepts
 Use the Precedence Diagramming Method to create a network
logic diagram to show the relationships between activities.
Build the diagram using boxes or rectangles that represent
activities, and create logical relationships between the
activities, specifying the predecessor and successor activity
relationships.
 There are four relationship types: Finish-to-Start, Start-to-
Start, Finish-to-Finish, and Start-to-Finish. The default
relationship type is Finish-to-Start.
 Use lag to specify a delay between an activity and its successor.
 You can create relationships in the Activity Network via a
Lesson 8

graphical display, or in the Relationships tab in Activity

Details.

120
Scheduling
LESSON 9

121
 Lesson Objectives
 Perform a forward and backward pass
 Describe float and its impact on a schedule
 Identify loops and open ends
 Calculate a schedule
 Analyze the scheduling log report
Lesson 9

121
 Critical Path Method Scheduling
 The Critical Path Method (CPM) scheduling technique is
utilized to calculate project schedules. CPM uses activity
durations and relationships between activities to
calculate schedule dates. This calculation is done in two
passes through the activities in a project.
Lesson 9

122
 Critical Path Method Scheduling (cont.)

 Critical Path
 The critical path is the series of activities that determines a
project's completion date.
 The duration of the activities on the critical path controls the
duration of the entire project. A delay to any of these activities
will delay the Finish date of the entire project.
 Critical activities are defined by either the total float or the
longest path in the project network.
Lesson 9

122
 What is the Data Date?
 The data date is the date that is utilized as the starting point for
schedule calculations. It is the date used to schedule all
remaining work.
 During the Planning phase the data date should match the
project Start date.
Lesson 9

123
 Data Date

J F M A M J J A S
Data Date Line Schedule

Time

Resource

Resource
Quantity
(person-
days)

Time

Cost
Lesson 9

OPN
Time
 Scheduling Concepts (cont.)
 Forward Pass
 The forward pass calculates an activity's early dates.
 Early dates are the earliest times an activity can start and finish
once its predecessors have been completed.
 The calculation begins with the activities without predecessors.
 Early Start (ES) + Duration - 1 = Early Finish (EF)
Lesson 9

124
 A
5
ES 1 EF 5

C
15
ES 11 EF 25

B
10

ES 1 EF 10
Lesson 9

Forward pass
124
 Scheduling Concepts (cont.)
 Backward Pass
 The backward pass calculates an activity's late dates.
 Late dates are the latest times an activity can start and finish
without delaying the end date of the project.
 The calculation begins with the activities without successors
(activity C in the graphic below).
 For projects without a Must Finish By date, activities without
successors are assigned a Late Finish equal to the latest
calculated Early Finish date (25 in the graphic below).
 Late Finish (LF) - Duration + 1 = Late Start (LS)
Lesson 9

125
 Backward pass

LS 6 LF 10

A
5
ES 1 EF 5 LS 11 LF 25

C
15
LS 1 LF 10 ES 11 EF 25
Lesson 9

B
10
ES 1 EF 10
125
 Scheduling Concepts (cont.)
 Total Float
 The amount of time an activity can slip from its early Start
without delaying the project.
 The difference between an activity's late dates and early dates.
 Activities with zero Total Float are critical.
 Late date - Early date = Total Float (TF)
 An activity's Total Float is automatically calculated each
time you schedule the project. You cannot edit an
activity's float values directly.
 The critical path is the series of activities that determines
a project's completion date. Activities B and C are on the
Lesson 9

critical path in the graphic below.

126
 Total Float LS LF

Positive float
ES EF

Positive float
LS LF
Zero float
(critical)
ES EF

LS LF

Negative Float
Lesson 9

(extremely
critical) ES EF

Negative float
126
 Backward pass

LS 6 LF 10

A
5
ES 1 EF 5 LS 11 LF 25
TF = 5 Path
i c al
t
Cri C
15
LS 1 LF 10 ES 11 EF 25
TF = 0
B
10
ES 1 EF 10
Lesson 9

TF = 0

Forward pass
127
 Scheduling Concepts (cont.)
 Backward Pass with Required Finish
 One of the most common project scenarios is a required
finish date for the project.
 Used only during the backward pass.
 Required finish date specifies when the project must finish
regardless of the network's duration and logic.
 Late Finish - Duration + 1 = Late Start
Lesson 9

128
 Backward pass

Critical Activities
LS 1 LF 5
Must Finish By:
A Day 20*
5
ES 1 EF 5 LS 6 20*
LF 25
TF =0
C
15
LS-4 LF 5 ES 11 EF 25
TF =-5
B
Lesson 9

10
 Which activities are critical
ES 1 EF 10
based on Total Float?
TF =-5 128
 Backward pass

LS 1 LF 5
Must Finish By:
A Day 20*
5
ES 1 EF 5 LS 6 20*
LF 25

at h
TF =0
P
g est C
Lo n 15
LS-4 LF 5 ES 11 EF 25
TF =-5
B
Lesson 9

10
 Which activities are critical
ES 1 EF 10
based on Longest Path?
TF =-5 128
 Scheduling Concepts (cont.)

Circular Relationships (Loops)

 Loops indicate circular logic between two activities.
 Primavera will not calculate a schedule until the loop
is eliminated.
 A dialog box is displayed listing the activities in the
loop

BA1010 BA1020 BA1030

Lesson 9

129
 Scheduling Concepts (cont.)
 Open Ends
 Open Ends are activities without a predecessor or successor.
 No predecessor - Activity uses data date as its Early Start.
 No successor - Activity uses project finish as its Late Finish
 Open-ended activities can portray an unrealistic amount of
positive total float.
Lesson 9

130
 Open Ends cont.
10 70 FINISH

START

20 30 50 60 80 90

40

NOTE: Primavera recommends that each project have

Lesson 9

only two open ends, the start milestone activity and the
finish milestone activity. 130
 Open Ends cont.
10 Oops! Open 70 FINISH

ends.
START

20 30 50 60 80 90

40

Notice the relationship between activity 30 and 50 is

Lesson 9

missing, creating two additional open ends.

What will happen when this network is scheduled?
130
 Scheduling a Project
 When you schedule a project, activity dates are
calculated according to durations and logic.
 Mark the Log to file checkbox to record scheduling
results in a log file (.txt).
 After you schedule the project, note the change in the
position of activities on the Gantt Chart. Activities are
displayed according to their calculated start and finish
dates. Critical activities are displayed in red.
Lesson 9

131
 Scheduling a Project (cont.)

 Schedule Log
 The Schedule Log records scheduling results, including:
 Scheduling/leveling settings
 Statistics
 Errors
 Warnings
 Scheduling/leveling results
 Exceptions
Lesson 9

132
 Driving Relationships
 An activity may have a relationship from a predecessor
that determines its Early Start. This logic tie is called a
driving relationship.
 A solid relationship line indicates a driving relationship.
 A dashed relationship line indicates a non-driving relationship.
 BA3040 and BA3050 do not drive the start of BA3070.
 BA3060 drives the start of BA3070.
Lesson 9

133
 Key Concepts
 After relationship logic has been defined, schedule the project
to determine when the activities will take place.
 Schedule dates can be calculated based on the critical path, a
series of activities that determine a project's completion date.
 When scheduling using the Critical Path Method, activity Early
Start and Finish dates are calculated during a forward pass,
and the Late Start and Finish dates are calculated during the
backward pass.
 The data date is used as a starting point when scheduling all
remaining work for the project.
 After scheduling, activities will have a total float that
represents the amount of time an activity can be delayed
without delaying the project.
Lesson 9

 After scheduling, results are recorded in a Schedule Log.

139
  Key Concepts
 After scheduling, results are recorded in a Schedule Log.
Lesson 9

139
Assigning Constraints
LESSON 10

141
 Lesson Objectives
 Apply an overall deadline to a project
 Apply a constraint to an individual activity
 Add notebook topics to constrained activities
 Describe the available constraint types
Lesson 10

141
 Constraints
 Constraints are imposed restrictions used to reflect
project requirements that cannot be built into the logic.
 Use constraints to build a schedule that more accurately
reflects the real-world aspects of the project, provide
added control to the project, and impose a restriction on
the entire project or an individual activity
 Constraints are user-imposed.
 Two constraints can be assigned to an activity.
 After applying a constraint, the project must be rescheduled to
calculate the new dates.
Lesson 10

142
 Commonly Used Constraints (cont.)
 Must Finish By
 Used when an overall project deadline must be met.
 Forces all activities in the project to finish by the date (and
time) specified.
 By default, the time associated to the Must Finish By date is set to
12:00 am. This means that if the project must finish by the end of
day on 1-Nov, assign a Must Finish By of 02-Nov.
 Affects the total float of the entire project.
 Must be applied in the Dates tab in Project Details.
 The current Early Finish of Building Addition project is
17-Nov-10. You will apply a Must Finish By constraint of
Lesson 10

02-Nov-10.
 The next step is to reschedule the project to see the effect
of the imposed deadline on the late dates and Total Float
in the project plan. 143
 Start On or After
Used to set the earliest date an activity can
begin.
Forces the activity to start no earlier than the
constraint date
Pushes the early start to the constraint date
Affects the early dates of its successors

LS LF LS LF

A B
Lesson 10

ES * EF ES EF
145
 Start On or After
Used to set the earliest date an activity can
begin.
Forces the activity to start no earlier than the
constraint date
Pushes the early start to the constraint date
Affects the early dates of its successors

LS LF LS LF

A A B B
Lesson 10

ES ES EF
* EF ES ES EF EF
145
 Commonly Used Constraints (cont.)
 Adding Notebook Topic
 When a constraint is assigned to an activity, it is
recommended that you add a note to document why the
constraint was assigned. You can use the Notebook tab
in the Activities window to document these reasons.
Lesson 10

147
 Finish On or Before
Used to set intermediate completion points
Forces the activity to finish no later than the
constraint date
Pulls the late finish date to the constraint date
Affects the late dates of its predecessors

LS LF LS LF *
Lesson 10

A B
ES EF ES EF 148
 Finish On or Before
Used to set intermediate completion points
Forces the activity to finish no later than the
constraint date
Pulls the late finish date to the constraint date
Affects the late dates of its predecessors

LS LSLF LF LS LS
LF * LF
Lesson 10

A A B B
ES EF ES EF 148
 Commonly Used Constraints (cont.)
 Start On
 Forces the activity to start on the constraint date.
 Shifts both Early and Late Start dates.
 Delays an Early Start or accelerates a Late Start.
 Used to specify dates submitted by contractors or vendors.
Lesson 10

150
 Commonly Used Constraints (cont.)
 Start On or Before
 Forces the activity to start no later than the constraint date.
 Shifts the Late Start to the constraint date.
 Affects the late dates of its predecessors.
 Used to place a deadline on the start of the activity.
Lesson 10

150
 Commonly Used Constraints (cont.)
 Finish On
 Forces the activity to finish on the constraint date.
 Shifts both Early and Late Finish dates.
 Delays an Early Finish or accelerates a Late Finish.
 Used to satisfy intermediate project deadlines.
Lesson 10

150
 Commonly Used Constraints (cont.)
 Finish On or After
 Forces the activity to finish no earlier than the constraint date.
 Shifts the Early Finish to the constraint date.
 Affects the early dates of its successors.
 Used to prevent an activity from finishing too early.
Lesson 10

150
 Commonly Used Constraints (cont.)
 As Late As Possible
 Delays an activity as late as possible without delaying its
successors.
 Shifts the early dates as late as possible.
 Also called a zero free float constraint.
Lesson 10

150
 Commonly Used Constraints (cont.)
 Mandatory Start and Finish
 Forces early and late dates to be equal to the constraint date.
 Affects late dates of predecessors and early dates of successors.
 May violate network logic.
Lesson 10

150
 Commonly Used Constraints (cont.)
 Key Concepts
 Assign constraints to activities and projects to reflect real-
world restrictions.
 A maximum of two constraints can be assigned to an activity.
 The Must Finish By constraint is used when an overall project
deadline must be met.
 Use the Start On or After constraint to set the earliest date an
activity can begin.
Lesson 10

151
Maintaining the Project
Documents Library
LESSON 11

153
 Lesson Objectives
 Describe the difference between a work product and a
reference document
 Create a document record
 Link the document record to a project document or work
product
 Assign the project document to an activity or WBS
Lesson 11

153
 Project Documents
 The Work Products and Documents window enables you
to maintain general information about project
documents, including links to the actual document files.
Documents are organized hierarchically to enhance
categorization.
 You can catalog and track project-related documents and
deliverables, and provide standards and guidelines for
performing work on an activity.
 Store documents on a network file server or Web site.
 Maintain general information about project documents such as
Lesson 11

version, revision date, and author.

 Create a link to the actual document file.

154
 Project Documents (cont.)
 Documents can be designated as a work product or
reference document:
 Work product - Includes project or activity deliverables that
will be turned over to the end user or customer. Examples:
CAD files, testing plans, and blueprints.
 Reference document - Includes documents that can be
referenced by a project participant to provide standards and
guidelines for performing work. Examples: guidelines, policies,
procedures, design templates, checklists, and worksheets.
Lesson 11

154
 Creating a Document Record
 Documents do not reside in the Primavera database. To access
documents via Primavera, a document record must be created
in the Work Products and Documents window.

Project Scope WBS

Office Building Addition Document
- Scope Document - The scope of
this project is to …
01/09/2006 Version
APEX Inc.
1.0 Activity
Lesson 11

1) Create Document Record. 2) Establish Link to 3) Assign Document Record to

Actual Document File. WBS Element and/or Activity.

155
 Creating a Document Record (cont.)
 Files Tab
 After you add a document record, you must establish a
link to the document by specifying a file path. There are
two kinds of document location references:
 Private Location - References can be viewed only by Primavera
client/server application users. Examples include invoices,
purchase orders, or contracts.
 Public Location - References can be viewed by all project
participants, including timesheet users. Examples include
procedure guidelines or project checklists.
Lesson 11

157
 Creating a Document Record (cont.)
 Assigning a Project Document to an Activity
 Project documents can be assigned to both WBS
elements and activities. For example, during a project's
planning phase, you may assign a document to a WBS
element. As the details of your project develop, you can
assign the same document to activities.
Lesson 11

158
 Creating a Document Record (cont.)
 Viewing Document Details
 Use the Work Product and Document Details dialog box
to view details about and/or open the selected work
product or document. Fields in the dialog box are
summarized below:
 Title - The name of the selected work product or document.
 Author - The name of the person who created the selected work
product or document.
 Version - The selected work product or document's version
number.
Lesson 11

 Date - The entered Revision Date.

 Private/Public Location - The selected work product or
document's file name.
 Launch Private/Public Location - Opens the work product or
document's file in its native application.
160
 Creating a Document Record (cont.)
 Viewing Document Details
 Description - A narrative description of the selected work
product or document.
Lesson 11

160
 Creating a Document Record (cont.)
 Key Concepts
 Documents do not reside in the Primavera database. To access
documents via Primavera, a document record must be created
in the Work Products and Documents window.
 After adding a document record, specify its private and/or
public location. Specifying a public location enables all project
participants to view the document.
 You can designate a document as a work product or reference
document and assign it to an activity or WBS element.
 Maintain general information of each project document such as
version, revision date, and author.
Lesson 11

161
Formatting Schedule Data
LESSON 12

163
 Lesson Objectives
 Group activities according to a specific criteria
 Sort activities
 Apply a filter
 Create a filter
Lesson 12

163
 Grouping Data
 Grouping is a flexible way to organize data into
categories that share a common attribute.
 You can group data to create customized layouts. You
can also use grouping to quickly view subtotal data in the
group title bands, view summary bars in the Gantt Chart,
and summarize data for reporting purposes.
 Grouping is available in all windows and most dialog boxes.
 Each window or dialog box has its own grouping options.
 Some windows have customized/pre-defined groups.
 Activities can be grouped by hierarchical fields such as WBS,
Lesson 12

activity codes, and project codes.

 Activities can be grouped by data fields such as dates, costs,
Total Float, and other numeric data.

164
 Grouping Data (cont.)
 Group and Sort Dialog Box
 The Group and Sort dialog box is used to set up the
organization of activities on the screen.
 Show Group Totals - Choose to display or hide the total values
for grouping bands. If you mark the Show Group Totals
checkbox, you have the additional options to Show Grand
Totals and Show Summaries Only.
 Show Grand Totals - Mark to display a grand total row at the top of
the layout.
 Show Summaries Only - Mark to hide the activities within each
group title band.
Lesson 12

 Shrink Vertical Grouping Bands - Minimize the width of the

vertical grouping bands displayed in the Activity Table. This
setting is available in windows that have the Group and Sort
by, Customize layout option.

165
 Grouping Data (cont.)
 Group and Sort Dialog Box
 Group By - Lists data items used to group the current display.
 Indent - Available if the selected data item is hierarchical.
 To Level - Indicates the number of levels to display when grouping
by a hierarchical data item.
 Group Interval - Indicates the interval by which you want to group
the selected data item.
 Font & Color - Displays the font/color for each group title band.
 Hide if empty - Mark to hide the group title bands that do not
contain activities.
Lesson 12

165
 Grouping Data (cont.)
 Group and Sort Dialog Box
 Sort Bands Alphabetically - Mark the checkbox to sort the
grouping bands alphabetically rather than their order in their
respective hierarchy. This checkbox is disabled for any
grouping that is not hierarchical.
 Show Title - Mark to display the name of the field that the
layout is grouped by; the value is also displayed.
 Show ID/Code - Mark the checkbox to display the ID or code
value on the grouping band.
 Show Name/Description - Mark the checkbox to display the
name or description on the grouping band.
Lesson 12

165
 Grouping Data (cont.)
 Grouping by Date
 Grouping a layout by date allows you to identify
activities that are scheduled to occur within a particular
time period.
Lesson 12

167
 Grouping Data (cont.)
 Collapsing/Expanding Grouped Data
 Collapse group bands to control the level of detail you
are viewing. This functionality is especially useful if you
want to focus on a specific portion of the layout.
 In the Activity Table, view summary information for the
displayed columns.
 In the Gantt Chart, summary bars are displayed to represent
the Start/Finish dates in each group band.
Lesson 12

168
 Sorting Activities
 Sorting determines the sequence in which activities are
listed within each grouping band. Based on the data item
you choose, you can sort alphabetically, numerically, or
chronologically.
Lesson 12

169
 Sorting Activities (cont.)
 Sorting by a Single Criteria
 To sort by a single criteria, click the data item's column
title.
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169
 Filtering Activities
1060 1140
1120
1010 1020
A series of statements
1040
which determine the 1090
activities to be displayed
on screen.
1070 1080
1000
1030
1110
Legend 1100
PRCH IT SLS ADMN

FILTER
Lesson 12

DEPT =
ADMN
1110 1120
 Filtering Activities
 A filter is a set of instructions that determines which
activities should display on screen.
 Filters enable you to create customized layouts by
limiting the number of activities displayed - helping you
to focus on critical activities, for example.
 A set of pre-defined filters is provided, as is the ability to create
user-defined filters of your own.
Lesson 12

170
 Filtering Activities (cont.)
 Filters are divided into the following groupings:
 Default
 Global
 User-defined
 One or more filters may be applied to a layout at a time.
 Multiple criteria for selection may be used within a single filter.
 Filter specifications can be saved and re-applied.
 Filters can be saved as part of a layout.
Lesson 12

170
 Filtering Activities (cont.)
 Filters Dialog Box
 All Activities - Mark to show all activities in the current layout.
 Show activities that match - When more than one filter is
marked, you must select one of the following options:
 All selected filters - Mark to include the activities that meet the
criteria of each selected filter.
 Any selected filter - Mark to include the activities that meet the
criteria of at least one of the selected filters.
 Replace activities shown in current layout - Displays only the
activities that meet the criteria of each selected filter.
 Highlight activities in current layout which match criteria -
Lesson 12

Highlights only the activities in the current layout that meet

the criteria of each selected filter.

171
 Filtering Activities (cont.)
 Applying a Default Filter
 To view critical activities, you can run the Critical default
filter.
Lesson 12

172
 Creating a Filter
 You can create filters based on a single line of criteria or
multiple criteria.
 A convenient single-criteria filter to use throughout the
life cycle of a project is a lookahead filter. It displays the
activities that are scheduled to occur within a given
amount of time - for example, the next month.
 You will execute the new filter to display all activities
scheduled to occur within the next month, and then save
the layout as One Month Lookahead.
Lesson 12

173
 Using Multiple Filters
 If you cannot achieve your goal with a single filter, you
can run two filters simultaneously.
Lesson 12

175
 Using Multiple Filters (cont.)
 Applying the All Activities Filter
 To refresh your screen with all activities, you can run the
All Activities filter.
Lesson 12

176
 Using Multiple Filters (cont.)
 Key Concepts
 Use grouping and sorting to organize activities in a layout.
 Grouping is available in all windows and most dialog boxes.
 The Group and Sort dialog box provides options to show grand
totals and summaries, and modify the font and color for each
grouping selected. You can also sort the groups alphabetically,
numerically, or chronologically.
 Use filters to customize the layout or only show activities that
satisfy the filter criteria. You can apply multiple filters to a
layout.
Lesson 12

177
Roles and Resources
LESSON 13

179
 Lesson Objectives
 Describe roles
 Views the roles dictionary
 Describe resources
 Identify the differences between labor, nonlabor and
material resources
 View the resource dictionary
Lesson 13

179
 Roles and Resources
 Before you begin to manage resources in Primavera, you
must understand the difference between a role and a
resource:
 Role - A role is a job title or skill - for example, Software
Engineer, Project Manager, Trainer, and Database
Administrator.
 Resource - A resource is an individual (or equipment or
material) used to complete an activity.
Lesson 13

180
 Roles and Resources (cont.)
 The Role dictionary and Resource dictionary are
enterprise data - available for use across all projects.
After roles and resources are defined, roles can be
associated to resources, identifying the skill sets of each
resource. Each resource also can be assigned a primary
role, which defines the core skill or responsibility in the
organization.
 Some organizations use roles as placeholders in activity
assignments until specific resources are assigned to do
the work.
Lesson 13

180
Lesson 13

180
 Defining Roles
 The Roles dictionary contains four tabs:
 General tab - Lists the Role ID and Role Name. The
Responsibilities field lists the skills required to perform the
role.
 Resources tab - Lists the resources that are capable of
performing the responsibilities associated with the role as well
as their proficiency.
 Prices tab - There are five available price per unit values. The
title of these values can be defined in the Rates tab in Admin
Preferences.
 Limits tab - Specify allocation limit(s) for a role. Multiple limits
Lesson 13

can be established based on effective date.

181
 Defining Roles (cont.)
 Limits Tab
 Use the Limits tab to specify available quantities (limits)
for a role. Setting limits helps you quickly identify areas
of role overload in Resource/Role Usage Profiles. You
can define an unlimited number of role limits for each
role; however, the effective date must be unique.
 By default, role limits are calculated based on the limit
defined for each role's primary resource, which may not
accurately reflect a role's planned allocation. In the
Resource Analysis tab in User Preferences, Resource
Lesson 13

Analysis tab, you can choose to display role limits based

on the custom role limits you define or based on the
calculated primary resources' limit.

183
 Defining Resources
 A resource is anything used to complete an activity. The
Resources window contains information about all
resources within the organization, enabling centralized
resource management. Resources are divided into three
categories:
 Labor (people) - Measured in units of time.
 Generally re-used between activities/projects.
 Recorded in terms of price/unit - for example, $50.00/hour.
 Nonlabor (equipment) - Measured in units of time.
 Recorded in terms of price/unit - for example, $465.00/hour.
Material - Measured in units other than time - for example,
Lesson 13


$4.50/sf.

184
 Resource Details
 Use Resource Details to add, view, and edit detailed
information about the selected resource.
Lesson 13

185
 Resource Details (cont.)
 General Tab
 The General tab enables you to enter general
information about the selected resource including the
resource's ID, name, employee ID, title, e-mail address,
office phone number, and status.
Lesson 13

185
 Resource Details (cont.)
 Codes Tab
 The Codes tab enables you to assign resource code values
to further categorize the selected resource for grouping
and organizing.
Lesson 13

185
 Resource Details (cont.)
 Details Tab
 The Details tab enables you to enter the selected
resource's labor classification, currency and overtime
settings, and profile.
 Labor Classification - Indicates the resource is Labor, Nonlabor
or Material.
 Unit of Measure - Utilized for material resources. Select to
determine what unit the resource utilizes.
 Currency - Indicates the currency associated with the
resource's costs.
Overtime Allowed - Mark to indicate the resource can enter
Lesson 13


overtime hours in Timesheets, or in the Resources tab in
Activity Details.

186
 Resource Details (cont.)
 Details Tab
 Overtime Factor - Indicates the value by which the resource's
standard price should be multiplied to determine the
resource's overtime price.
 Calendar - Calendar used to identify resource availability.
 Default Units/Time - Indicates the units/time that will be
applied when the resource is assigned to an activity.
 Auto Compute Actuals - Mark to automatically calculate the
resource's actual quantity of work according to the project
plan.
 Calculate costs from units - Mark to calculate the cost of an
Lesson 13

activity based on the assigned units.

186
 Resource Details (cont.)
 Units & Prices Tab
 The Units & Prices tab enables you to set prices and
availability according to time.
 Effective Date - The effective start date for price and
availability.
 Max Units/Time - A numeric value or percentage the resource
can perform in a single work period, according to effective
date, e.g., 8 h/d (100%) = full-time or 4 h/d (50%) = part-time.
Setting this limit allows you to quickly identify areas of
resource overallocation in resource profiles/spreadsheets.
 Price/Unit - Set the resource's price for a single work unit,
Lesson 13

according to the effective date.

187
 Resource Details (cont.)
 Key Concepts
 A role is a job title or skill, for example, Trainer or Manager.
 A resource is someone - or something - used to complete an
activity.
 Roles can be assigned to resources to aid in resource
management. Multiple roles and a single primary role can be
assigned to each resource.
 Resources are divided into three categories: Labor (people);
Nonlabor (equipment); Material (measured in units other than
time, e.g., $4.50/square foot).
 Roles are defined in the Roles dictionary.
Lesson 13

 Resources are defined in the Resources window, where you can

use Resource Details to view and edit information about
resources.

188
Assigning Roles
LESSON 14

189
 Lesson Objectives
 Assign roles to an activity
 Assign rates on roles
Lesson 14

189
 Assigning Roles to Activities
 If you know which skill sets are required for each activity
- but not the exact people who will perform the work -
you can assign roles to the activities. Role assignments
will act as placeholders, which you can use later to assign
the resources.
 To assign a role to an activity, click Add Role in the
Resources tab in Activity Details.
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190
 Assigning Roles to Activities
 If you know which skill sets are required for each activity
- but not the exact people who will perform the work -
you can assign roles to the activities. Role assignments
will act as placeholders, which you can use later to assign
the resources.
 To assign a role to an activity, click Add Role in the
Resources tab in Activity Details.
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190
 Assigning Roles to Activities (cont.)
 Assign Multiple Roles to an Activity
 Use Control-click to select and assign multiple roles to a
single activity.
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192
 Assigning Roles to Activities (cont.)
 Assigning a Role to Multiple Activities
 You can assign a single role to multiple activities by
selecting activities in the Activity Table and then clicking
Roles in the Command bar.
 To select multiple activities:
 If the activities you want to select are contiguous - Select the
first activity and then Shift-click to select the last activity.
 If the activities you want to select are not contiguous - Use
Control-click to select individual activities.
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193
 Assigning Rates on Roles
 Rate types are assigned to roles in the Resources tab in
Activity Details.
 The rate type determines the price/unit used to calculate
costs for the assignment. The names for each rate type
are defined by your system administrator in the Rate
Types tab of Admin Preferences. When you select a rate
type, the monetary value is updated automatically in the
Price/Unit column.
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194
 Assigning Rates on Roles (cont.)
 Key Concepts
 Role assignments can act as a placeholder, which you can later
use to assign a specific resource.
 You can assign a single role to an activity; multiple roles to a
single activity; or a single role to multiple activities.
 You can also assign rates to roles. The rate type determines the
price/unit used to calculate costs for the assignment.
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195
Assigning Resources and Costs
LESSON 15

197
 Lesson Objectives
 Assign resources by role
 Assign labor, nonlabor, and material resources to
activities
 Adjust Budgeted Units/Time for a resource
 Assign expenses to activities
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197
 Steps for Resource Management
 Following are the basic steps for resource management:
 Define resource availability.
 Set up the resource name, description, cost, roles, and attributes
that control the resource's effect on the schedule.
 Enter the resource name and amount of work planned.
 The cost is calculated based on the resource quantity and price/unit
as defined in the Resources window.
 Use the Resource Usage Profile to view resource quantity/cost
information graphically. The profile helps you analyze when, and to
what extent, a resource is allocated.
 Use the Resource Usage Spreadsheet to view resource quantity/cost
information in a tabular format. Like the Resource Usage Profile,
Lesson 15

the spreadsheet helps you analyze resource allocation.

 Use columns to view total costs.

198
 Assigning by Role
 Resource assignments can be made by replacing a role
assignment with a specific resource.
 At least one role must be assigned to an activity to assign
resources by role. When you assign by role, only those
resources assigned to the role are displayed in the Assign
Resources by Role dialog box.
 When assigning resources by role, a confirmation dialog
box is displayed if the resource selected to replace the
role assignment has different default quantity/cost
settings. These settings include Price/Time, Units/Time,
Lesson 15

and Overtime Factor values.

199
 Assigning by Role (cont.)
 In responding to the dialog box:
 Click No - Apply the role's quantity/cost settings.
 Click Yes - Apply the resource's quantity/cost settings.
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200
 Assigning by Role (cont.)
 Assigning By Role to Multiple Activities
 You can select multiple activities to simultaneously
replace their role assignments. You can also assign
multiple resources by roles to multiple activities
simultaneously.
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201
 Assigning Resources
 Depending on numerous factors - including the type of
activity or type of resource - you may need to adjust
Budgeted Units or Units/Time when assigning a
resource.
 Budgeted Units - The number of units, hours for example, that
a resource is assigned to work on the activity.
 Units/Time - The number of units (hours) a resource is
scheduled to work in a specific time period - for example, 8
hours/day.
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202
 Assigning Resources (cont.)
 Assigning Resource to Level of Effort Activity
 When you assign a resource to an activity, this
calculation is performed: Duration x Units/Time =
Units. Typically, a resource is not assigned to work on a
level of effort activity full time. Therefore, the
Units/Time must be adjusted after making the resource
assignment.
Lesson 15

202
 Assigning Resources (cont.)
 Assigning a Nonlabor Resource
 If a role is not designated as a placeholder in an activity,
assign a resource directly from the Resource dictionary.
Resources in the dictionary can be used on any activity.
An unlimited number of resources can be assigned.
 The Search feature can help you quickly search the
resource dictionary for a backhoe, a nonlabor resource
which is required to work on the Backfill and Compact
Walls activity.
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203
 Assigning Resources (cont.)
 Adjusting Resource's Budgeted Units/Time
 You can adjust Budgeted Units/Time after making a
resource assignment. In the example below, you will
manually type 16h/d in the Budgeted Units/Time
column, indicating that two laborers at 8h/d will work
on the activity.
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204
 Assigning Resources (cont.)
 Designating a Primary Resource
 The primary resource is the person responsible for
coordinating an activity's work. An activity can have one
or no primary resource.
 Only the primary resource can send feedback via Primavera
Timesheets to the project manager, informing the project
manager of the status of an activity.
 A primary resource can be assigned to a milestone activity to
allow the milestone to be updated through timesheets. This
assignment is made on in the General tab in Activity Details.
 A primary resource can update steps via Timesheets.
Lesson 15

 If multiple resources are assigned, the first resource assigned is

designated as the primary resource.

205
 Assigning Resources (cont.)
 Assigning a Material Resource
 Material resources are not measured in units of time.
For example, Polyform is measured in linear feet and
concrete is measured in cubic yards. Units of measure
are created in Admin Categories. After the unit of
measure is created, it is assigned to the material
resource in the Resource dictionary.
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206
 Planning Costs
 Costs are planned and managed at the activity level.
There are two types of costs:
 Resource - Calculated based on resource assignments.
 Expense - Lump sum costs that are manually entered.
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207
 Planning Costs (cont.)
 Resource
 The cost of a resource can be calculated based on the
Price/Unit defined in the Resource dictionary and the
Budgeted Units assigned to the activity.
 Budgeted Cost = Budgeted Units x Price/Unit
Lesson 15

207
 Planning Costs (cont.)
 Expense
 Expenses are non-resource costs associated with a
project. They are typically one-time expenditures for
non-reusable items. Examples of expenses include
facilities, travel, overhead, and training.
 Expenses are manually assigned at the activity level. You
can enter a single lump sum expense or you can enter
the number of units and the Price/Unit.
 Expense categories can be assigned to classify the expense.
 Expenses can be accrued at the start, end, or uniformly over
Lesson 15

the duration of an activity.

 A unit of measure can be used to label the quantity, for
example, each, pounds, square feet.

208
 Planning Costs (cont.)
 Summary Tab
 Use the Summary tab to display unit, cost, or date
information for the selected activity.
 Select Display cost at the bottom of the page to display
the itemized and total cost of the selected activity. The
activity's costs are broken into:
 Labor Cost
 Nonlabor Cost
 Material Cost
 Expenses
Lesson 15

 Total Cost

210
 Planning Costs (cont.)
 Key Concepts
 Three steps in resource management are defining resources;
assigning resources; and analyzing resources.
 Resource assignments can be made by replacing a role
assignment with a specific resource. At least one role must be
assigned to an activity to assign resources by role.
 If a role is not designated as a placeholder in an activity, assign
a resource directly from the Resource dictionary.
 When you assign a resource to an activity, this calculation is
performed: Duration x Units/Time = Units.
 When you assign a resource, you can adjust Units/Time or
Lesson 15

Budgeted Units. You can also designate a primary resource.

211
Analyzing Resources
LESSON 16

213
 Lesson Objectives
 Display the Resource Usage Profile
 Format a profile
 Format the timescale
Lesson 16

213
 Resource Analysis Settings
 The Resource Usage Profile, which can be displayed in
the Activities window, enables you to view
resources/role unit and cost distribution over time. You
can specify how data is played in the profile via the
Resource Analysis tab in User Preferences:
 All Projects
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214
 Resource Analysis Settings (cont.)
 All closed projects (except what-if projects) - Displays
resource/cost usage data for:
 All closed projects with a leveling priority - When electing to show
remaining values for open versus closed projects, choose this
option to include data for all closed projects with a specific leveling
priority.
 Opened projects only - Focus on resource/cost usage in the projects
currently opened.
 Time-Distributed Data
 Display data based on Remaining Early or Forecast dates.
 Select the time interval for displaying live resource allocation: hour,
day, week, or month.
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214
 Resource Usage Profile
 The Resource Usage Profile provides a graphical view of
unit/cost distributions over time. It displays the amount
of effort needed from each resource/role on the project
during each time period.
 Use the profile to determine how many hours each
resource is scheduled to work; identify overallocated
resources; track expenditures per time period; and
display a "banana curve" to compare early and late dates.
 View unit/cost distributions from a specific project or all
projects to which you have access.
Lesson 16

 View resource or role allocations.

216
 Resource Usage Profile (cont.)
 Display separate bars for one or all of the following:
 Budgeted units/costs
 Actual units/costs
 Remaining Early units/costs
 Remaining Late units/costs
 The Resource Usage Profile timescale matches the timescale
for the Gantt Chart.
 Format columns, group, sort, and filter resources/roles in the
profile.
 Can be saved as part of a layout.
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216
 Displaying the Resource Usage Profile
 You can use Resource Usage Profile information to
determine which resources/roles are overallocated and
which resources/roles are underutilized.
 The table below lists the sections of the Resource Usage
Profile. Note that there are two Display Option bars: one
that controls display options for the left pane, and
another that controls display options for the right pane.
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217
 Displaying the Resource Usage Profile
(cont.)

 Viewing All Projects or Open Projects Only

 When you select the User Preferences setting to All
closed projects (except what-if projects), you can toggle
the Resource Usage Profile to display either:
 all open projects.
 all closed projects except for what-if projects.
 This option is available on the right pane Display
Options bar.
 Once you have only the open projects displayed, you can
filter the top layout by either Time Period or Resource.
Lesson 16

218
 Displaying the Resource Usage Profile
(cont.)

 Formatting the Profile

 The Resource Usage Profile can be modified by adjusting
Data and Graph settings in the Resource Usage Profile
Options dialog box.
 Data settings:
 Display - Select to display units or costs.
 Show Bars/Curves - Mark to display By Date (periodic) bars
and/or Cumulative curves and format their colors.
 Show Remaining Bars As - Select a solid color to display early
bars and a hatched color to display late bars.
Lesson 16

 Additional Data Options - Mark to display a line indicating

resource limits; resource/role overallocation; resource
availability; or resource overtime units.

220
 Displaying the Resource Usage Profile
(cont.)

 Formatting the Profile

 Graph settings:
 Vertical Lines - Choose to display major/minor sight lines
based on the timescale interval.
 Horizontal Lines - Choose the line style and color.
 Additional display options:
 Show Legend - Display the data item each color represents.
 3D Bars - Add a third dimension to the bars.
 Background Color - Specify the color displayed in the background
of the Resource Usage profile.
 Calculate Average - Specify the values you want to use to divide the
Lesson 16

timescale interval totals.

221
 Displaying the Resource Usage Profile
(cont.)

 Formatting the Timescale

 You can specify the timescale you want to display in the
Resource Usage Profile and the Gantt Chart.
 Timescale Start - Specify the date from which the timescale
should start for the profile or Gantt Chart.
 Date Interval - Choose the units of the timescale in years,
quarters, months, weeks, days, hours, and shifts.
Lesson 16

223
 Displaying the Resource Usage Profile
(cont.)

 Formatting the Timescale

 You can also format the timescale by clicking and
dragging:
 Place your mouse on the minor date interval on the timescale.
Click and drag to expand or contract the timescale.
Lesson 16

224
 Displaying the Resource Usage Profile
(cont.)

 Key Concepts
 The Resource Usage Profile provides a graphical view of
unit/cost distributions over time. It displays the amount of
effort needed from each resource/role on the project during
each time period.
 Use the profile to determine how many hours each resource is
scheduled to work; identify overallocated resources; track
expenditures per time period; and display a "banana curve" to
compare early and late dates.
 You can specify settings for resource analysis in the Resource
Analysis tab in User Preferences.
Lesson 16

 You can further customize the profile by using the two Display
Option bars.

227
Optimizing the Project Plan
LESSON 17

229
 Lesson Objectives
 Analyze schedule dates
 Shorten a project schedule
 Analyze resource availability
 Remove resource overallocation
 Analyze project costs
Lesson 17

229
 Analyzing the Project
 Once you have created the project plan, verify that it
meets the project stakeholders' date, resource, and
cost requirements. If an inconsistency exists between
the information in the project plan and the project
requirements, you will be able to identify the source of
the problem and define a solution:
 Analyze schedule dates - Evaluate the schedule to ensure
that milestone dates and project dates are achieved.
 Analyze resource allocation - Evaluate the resources to
Lesson 17

ensure that the resources are not overallocated.

 Analyze cost budget - Evaluate project costs.

230
 Analyzing the Project

Ensure
Schedule milestones/project
(Scope) deadlines are achieved

Ensure resources are

not over allocated

Ensure project is
within its cost
Lesson 17

Resources Costs budget

230
 Analyzing Schedule Dates
 The most important date in the schedule is the
calculated project Finish date. If the calculated Finish
date of the project is beyond the Must Finish By date, the
project must be shortened. In addition, each deliverable
in the project should be scheduled to finish by the dates
imposed by the project stakeholders.
 Steps for analysis:
 Compare the calculated Finish to the Must Finish By date.
 Back up your project plan.
 Focus on critical activities.
Lesson 17

 Shorten the project.

231
 Analyzing Schedule Dates (cont.)
 Comparing Finish Date to Must Finish By Date
 You can quickly determine whether the project will
finish on time by viewing the Dates tab in the Projects
window.
 The Office Building Addition project must be finished by
02-Nov-10 - however, the schedule indicates that the
project will not finish until 17-Nov-10. (Note that the
project actually must finish by the close of business on
01-Nov-10 as the Must Finish By constraint is at 12:01
am on November 2.)
Lesson 17

232
 Analyzing Schedule Dates (cont.)
 Focusing on Critical Activities
 To shorten the project, focus on critical activities. These
represent the longest continuous path of activities
through a project that determines the project Finish
date. If you adjust a critical activity, the Finish is likely
affected.
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233
 Shortening the Project
 If schedule analysis leads you to conclude that the Must
Finish By date cannot be met, concentrate your efforts
on shortening the schedule. Several methods can help
you accomplish this goal:
 Refine duration estimates:
 Break down long activities.
 Assign additional resources to reduce duration.
 Use relationships to overlap activities.
 Apply/modify constraints.
Lesson 17

235
 Shortening the Project (cont.)
 Change calendar assignments:
 Put critical activities on a longer workweek.
 Add exceptions to nonworktime.
Lesson 17

235
 Shortening the Project (cont.)
 Refining Duration Estimates
 Begin the analysis by reviewing the activities with the
longest duration. In general, these activities offer the
greatest flexibility in altering durations.
Lesson 17

236
 Shortening the Project (cont.)
 Modifying Relationships
 If you need to further compress the schedule, review
relationships between activities on the critical path.
 Currently, there is a Finish-to-Start relationship between
the Site Preparation and Excavation activities. You
determine these activities can be performed at the same
time. Therefore, change the relationship to Start-to-Start
with 5 days of lag.
Lesson 17

237
 Shortening the Project (cont.)
 Modifying Constraints
 Constraints assigned earlier in the project life cycle may
need to be modified based on the latest information from
the project team. If you modify a constraint, be sure to
also modify the Notebook topic that was created to
document the constraint.
 A resource is available to work on the Excavation
activity. You can now remove the Start On or After
constraint from the Excavation activity.
Lesson 17

238
 Shortening the Project (cont.)
 Verifying Project Dates
 To see if the project will now finish on time, verify that
no negative Total Float exists on any of the activities in
the project.
 The Total Float for the project equals 1 day and the
calculated Finish date is 29-Oct-10. Therefore, the
project is scheduled to finish before the Must Finish By
date of 2-Nov-10.
Lesson 17

239
 Analyzing Resource Allocation
 The project plan is now scheduled to be completed by
the deadline. Before proceeding, verify that resources are
appropriately allocated.
 You can use the Resource Usage Profile to determine
which resources are overallocated/underutilized. You
can then re-assign resources to help even the workload.
Lesson 17

240
 Analyzing Resource Allocation (cont.)
 Identifying Resource Overallocation
 The Resource Usage Profile allows you to run a filter to
focus on the activities that are contributing to a
resource's overallocation.
 Using a filter in the Resource Usage Profile, identify the
activities contributing to Oliver Rock's overallocation in
January through February 2010.
Lesson 17

241
 Analyzing Resource Allocation (cont.)
 Correcting Overallocation
 If overallocation is identified, choose a method to
remove the overallocation from the specific resource.
Several methods can help you accomplish this goal:
 Replace the overallocated resource with an available resource.
 Increase the resource's workweek.
 Increase the hours/day that the resource works.
 Assign additional resources to the activity.
 After analyzing Oliver Rock's overallocation, you have
decided to use a different resource for activities BA5010
Lesson 17

Review and Approve Brick Samples and BA5020 Prepare

and Solicit Bids for Brick Exterior. Waylan Smithers is
not allocated to work in this time period, so he can be
assigned to the activities.
242
 Analyzing Resource Allocation (cont.)
 Correcting Overallocation
 Assign Waylan Smithers to work on the two activities.
Lesson 17

244
 Analyzing Resource Allocation (cont.)
 Reviewing Allocation
 Use the Resource Usage Profile to check allocation for
Oliver Rock, who was removed from the activities, and
Waylan Smithers, who was assigned in his place.
Lesson 17

245
 Analyzing Resource Allocation (cont.)
 Replacing a Resource
 Note that this functionality is available only when
assigning a resource directly - it is not available in the
Assign Resources by Role dialog box.
Lesson 17

246
 Analyzing the Budget
 There are many options for analyzing the budget. By
displaying cost columns in the Activity Table, you can
analyze the budgeted cost of the entire project, as well as
each individual activity.
 $250,000 has been allocated for the Office Building
Addition project. You will display a layout that shows
budgeted cost information so you can determine
whether the project is within this budget.
Lesson 17

247
 Analyzing the Budget (cont.)
 Key Concepts
 Optimizing the project plan is the last step in planning your
project. Ensure that the project plan meets its date, resource,
and cost requirements.
 If the calculated Finish date of the project is beyond the Must
Finish By date, the project must be shortened. Comapare the
dates in the Dates tab in Project Details.
 You can use various methods to shorten the project, such as
refining durations, modifying relationships, applying
constraints, and focusing on critical activities.
 Use the Resource Usage Profile to ensure resources are not
Lesson 17

overallocated.
 Evaluate costs to ensure that the project can be completed
within budget.

248
Baselining the Project Plan
LESSON 18

249
 Lesson Objectives
 Create a baseline plan
 Display baseline bars on the Gantt Chart
 Modify the bars on the Gantt Chart
Lesson 18

249
 Baselines
 A baseline is a copy of a project that you can compare to
the current project to evaluate progress. Create a
baseline plan before updating a schedule for the first
time.
 Baselines provide a target against which you can track a
project's cost, schedule, and resource performance.
 Baseline functionality in Primavera enables you to:
 Save an unlimited number of baselines per project.
 Designate one project baseline and up to three user baselines
at a time for comparison to the current project.
Lesson 18

 Assign a baseline type to categorize a baseline. Examples

include initial planning, what-if, or mid-project baselines.
Baseline types can help you benchmark performance across
multiple projects.
250
 Baselines (cont.)

J F M A M J J A S
Schedule
Lesson 18

250
 Creating a Baseline
 You can create a baseline either by:
 Copying the currently opened project.
 Converting another project into a baseline.
 When you create a baseline, you must select the project
to which it is associated. Baselines can be assigned only
to opened projects. All opened projects are displayed in
the Maintain Baselines dialog box.
Lesson 18

251
 Creating a Baseline (cont.)
 Categorizing the Baseline
 Assign a baseline type to categorize the baseline based
on how you to intend to use it. For example, the Initial
Plan baseline type can be used for your initial project
plan. Another baseline type, Mid-Project Status, can be
used after the project is underway. Baseline types are
also useful in organizing multiple baselines in the
project.
Lesson 18

252
 Creating a Baseline (cont.)
 Assigning a Baseline
 Use the Assign Baselines dialog box to choose a project
baseline and/or user baseline for the project. If no
baseline is designated as active, the current project plan
is used as the baseline.
 Project baseline is the baseline selected by the project manager
for the project.
 Used for schedule, resource, and cost comparison.
 Controlled by the security privilege, Maintain Project Baselines.
 User Baseline assignments are user-specific.
Lesson 18

 Used for schedule comparison only.

 Each user can choose a different baseline for comparison to the
current project.

253
 Viewing Baseline Bars
 The Bars dialog box allows you to modify the type, size,
color, row position, and shape of the bars displayed in
the Gantt Chart.
 Timescale - Bar is drawn based on the timescale selected, for
example, Actual Bar drawn from Actual Start date to Actual
Finish date.
 Filter - Bar is drawn for all activities that match the criteria
listed in the filter displayed.
Lesson 18

254
 Viewing Baseline Bars (cont.)
 Bar Style Tab
 The Bar Style tab enables you to specify the shape, color,
and pattern of the bars and endpoints.
 Shape - Shape of the selected bar's start endpoint, the bar
itself, and the finish endpoint.
 Color - Choose the selected bar's start endpoint color, the color
of the bar itself, and the color of the finish endpoint.
 Pattern - The fill pattern of the selected bar.
 Row - Displays the position of the bar on the Gantt Chart.
Lesson 18

254
 Viewing Baseline Bars (cont.)
 Displaying Baseline Bars
 By displaying baseline bars in the Gantt Chart, you can
visually compare the baseline plan's schedule dates to
the current project plan's schedule dates.
 In addition to bars displayed by default, you can create
additional bars based on date fields and filters.
 Select a value in the Row field to determine placement of
a bar in the Gantt Chart.
Lesson 18

255
 Viewing Baseline Bars (cont.)
 Customizing the Activity Table
 You can further customize the layout by choosing display
options for the Activity Table. These include the font of
the text and the height of the rows, which can be
specified in the Table, Font and Row dialog box.
Lesson 18

256
 Viewing Baseline Bars (cont.)
 Saving the Layout
 If you are pleased with the layout, save it with a new
name.
Lesson 18

257
 Viewing Baseline Bars (cont.)
 Bar Labels Tab
 Labels can be placed on any of the bars listed in the
dialog box. By adding dates to the bars, you can quickly
determine the Start and Finish dates of activities in the
Gantt Chart.
Lesson 18

258
 Viewing Baseline Bars (cont.)
 Key Concepts
 A baseline is a copy of a project that you can compare to the
current project to evaluate progress. Create a baseline plan
before updating a schedule for the first time.
 You can create a baseline either by copying the currently
opened project or converting another project into a baseline.
 Assign a baseline type to categorize the baseline based on how
you to intend to use it.
 A project baseline is the baseline selected by the project
manager for the project and is controlled by a security
privilege. A user-baseline can be designated by each user and is
Lesson 18

used for schedule comparison only.

260
 Viewing Baseline Bars (cont.)
 Key Concepts
 The Bars dialog box allows you to modify the type, size, color,
row position, and shape of the baseline bars displayed in the
Gantt Chart.
Lesson 18

260
Project Execution and Control
LESSON 19

261
 Lesson Objectives
 Describe several methods for updating the project
schedule
 Use Progress Spotlight
 Status activities
 Reschedule the project
Lesson 19

261
 Updating a Project
 Once a project has started, you need to update actual
schedule information and resource usage at regular
intervals. Your company will establish a standard update
procedure, including how data is collected and how often
it is updated.
Lesson 19

262
 Updating a Project (cont.)
 How Often?
 You may need to update daily, weekly, or monthly,
depending on the length of your project and how
frequently you want to adjust your forecasts.
Lesson 19

262
 Updating a Project (cont.)
 How Data is Collected
 Project managers manually enter the actual date, resource, and
cost information.
 Record actual dates and progress, actual resource usage and cost,
and expense costs.
 Approve and apply timesheets.
 Team members use timesheets to update activities.
 Project managers review and approve timesheets.
 Project managers apply timesheets to the project.
 Auto compute actuals.
 Progress of activities is automatically calculated according to the
Lesson 19

project plan.

262
 The Data Date
 When updating a project, actuals are recorded for each
activity relative to the data date. The data date is the date
up to which actual performance data is reported and the
date from which future work is scheduled. By default,
the data date is set to the beginning of the day.
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263
 Data Date
Data Date J F M A M J J A S
Line Critical Bar
Schedule

Project Target Bar

Start Date

Early Bar
Actual Bar

Time

Resource Solid line represents

Budgeted Resource Usage

Resource
Quantity
(person- Dotted line represents
days)
Reforecast Resource Usage

Time

Cost Dotted line represents

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Reforecast Costs

Solid line represents

Budgeted Costs

Time
263
 Updating Process
 Create a baseline plan.
 Identify the new data date with the Progress Spotlight.
 Enter activity progress.
 Report resource use and costs to date.
 Use Suspend and Resume dates as necessary.
 Apply actuals to the project.
 Perform target analysis.
 Compare the current plan to the target to analyze variances.
 Calculate the schedule.
 Be sure to verify the new data date.
 Monitor project progress with reports.
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 Updating Process (cont.)
 Determine whether project objectives are being met:
 Will the project finish on time?
 Is it within budget?
 Are project resources being used effectively?
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264
 Updating Process (cont.)
 Tips for Statusing
 Use Activity Details tabs or the Activity Table.
 Use Progress Spotlight to identify activities to be updated.
 Use filters and grouping to create a statusing layout.
 Use rolling dates for a time period look-ahead.
 Select only activities to be updated.
 Organize in a useful sequence via activity codes, resources, and
dates.
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 Defining a Statusing Period
 Define the statusing period before you begin to update
activities. In general, the statusing period begins at the
current data date and ends at a point in the future. The
length of the statusing period depends on the frequency
of your updates. You could, for example, create a
statusing period that extends one week from the current
data date. The end of the statusing period will become
the new data date - the date up to which actual
performance is measured.
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265
 Defining a Statusing Period (cont.)
 There are two options to define the statusing period in
the Gantt Chart:
 Activate Progress Spotlight.
 Drag the data date.
 Note that even as you establish a new statusing period,
the new data date must still be manually changed in the
Schedule dialog box.
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265
 Defining a Statusing Period (cont.)
 Progress Spotlight
 Progress Spotlight creates a visible statusing period
between the current data date and the next status date. It
also provides a highlighted list of activities that should
have progress during the update period.
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266
 Defining a Statusing Period (cont.)
 Dragging the Data Date
 Highlight the activities to be updated by dragging the
status line to the desired date.
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267
 Entering Actuals
 Once a project is underway, you must enter actual
schedule data, resource usage, and expense costs at
regular intervals. You may need to update daily, weekly,
or monthly, depending on the length of your project and
how frequently you want to adjust your forecasts.
 Actual data is different than planned data - actual data is
the real time and cost associated with an activity.
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268
 Entering Actuals (cont.)
 Enter schedule, resource, and cost data in the following
order:
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268
 Entering Actuals (cont.)
 Completed Activities
 Actual Start and Actual Finish dates
 Actual Regular Units/Costs
 Actual Cost for expenses
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268
 Entering Actuals (cont.)
 Activities in Progress
 Actual Start date
 Percent Complete and/or Remaining Duration
 Actual Regular Units/Costs and Remaining Units/Costs
 Actual and Remaining Costs for expenses
 If activity work is temporarily halted, use
Suspend/Resume dates.
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268
 Statusing Milestones
 To update a start milestone, mark the Started checkbox
and enter the Actual Start date. You do not need to enter
data in the Finish field because the activity type is a Start
Milestone, which has zero duration.
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269
 Statusing Activities to Completion
 Three steps must be performed to update an activity to
completion:
 Enter Actual Start and Actual Finish dates.
 Enter Actual Regular Units for resources.
 Enter Actual Cost for expenses.
 Below you will check the Actual Regular Units for the
activity. Note that in this example, data in the Actual
Regular Units field is automatically completed because
Recalculate Actual Units and Cost when duration %
complete changes is selected in the Calculations tab in
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the Projects window for the project.

270
 Statusing Activities to Completion (cont.)
 You will now status activity BA1020 - Review and
Approve Designs, which was completed during this
status period. The activity started on time but finished 1
day late. Resource Paul Kim worked an additional 8
hours on the activity.
 When selecting a new date for the Started or Finished
field in the Status tab, mark the checkbox first and then
select the date.
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272
 Statusing Activities to Completion (cont.)
 Statusing a Mid-Project Milestone
 A Start Milestone is updated the same way whether it
occurs at the beginning of a project or in mid-project:
Mark the Started checkbox and then enter the Actual
Start date.
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274
 Statusing Activities in Progress
 Five steps must be performed to update an activity in
progress:
 Enter Actual Start date.
 Enter Percent Complete and/or Remaining Duration.
 Enter Actual Regular Units and Remaining Units for resources.
 Enter Actual Cost and Remaining Cost for expenses.
 In the example below, activity BA2010 was started
during the status period but is now falling behind
schedule. You will reflect this by increasing the
Remaining Duration.
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 Actual Regular Units is the number of units that

resource(s) actually worked on the activity. Remaining
Units represents the amount of work (units) that is
required to complete the activity.
275
 Statusing Activities in Progress (cont.)
 The formula for calculating Remaining Units is:
Remaining Units = Remaining Duration * Remaining
Units/Time.
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276
 Suspending an Activity
 When an activity starts but is unexpectedly delayed or
stopped for a period of time, you may suspend it.
 A suspended activity must have an Actual Start.
 Use the Status tab to enter Suspend and Resume dates.
 Suspend date - The last day that work was conducted on the
activity.
 Resume date - The first day that work will continue on the activity.
 The actual duration excludes suspension time.
 Use the Notebook tab to document the reason for the
suspension.
 In the exercise below, the Excavation activity was started
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late and then was suspended due to a snowstorm.

277
 Statusing Activities to Completion
 The Review and Submit Flooring Samples activity has
finished 1 day early.
 Resource Oliver Rock worked 8 hours less than planned on
the activity. Update Actual Units to 56 hours.
 The Assemble Brick Samples activity also was completed
during this status period.
 The Assemble Technical Data for Heat Pump activity was
started and finished in this update period.
 The Assemble Technical Data for Heat Pump activity has an
expense that is running over its budgeted amount. You will
update the expenses for the activity to reflect the spending.
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 In the Expense tab, the field for At Completion Cost

($600.00) is calculated by adding Actual Cost ($600.00) +
Remaining Cost ($0.00).

279
 Rescheduling the Project
 Now that actuals have been entered, it is time to
reschedule the project based on the new data date. Any
activities that did not finish on time will delay their
successor activities.
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284
 Rescheduling the Project (cont.)
 Viewing the Results of Rescheduling Project
 After the project has been rescheduled, the successors to
the delayed activity, BA2020, have also been delayed.
 Analyze the activities on the critical path.
 Review the project's performance to date.
 Develop strategies for getting the project back on track.
 Gain agreement within your project team.
 Implement the revised project plan.
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285
 Controlling the Project
 After scheduling a project, analyze schedule dates,
resource allocation, and the cost budget.
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286
 Controlling the Project (cont.)
 Analyzing Schedule Dates
 Analyze the schedule to determine if milestone dates and
project dates are being met.
 Compare the calculated Finish date to the Must Finish By date to
see if you will complete the project on time.
 If the project is behind schedule, analyze critical activities.
 Adjust the project to meet your project Finish date.
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286
 Controlling the Project (cont.)
 Analyzing Resource Allocation
 After adjusting the project, determine if resources are being
used effectively.
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286
 Controlling the Project (cont.)
 Analyzing the Cost Budget
 After adjusting the project, view At Completion Total Cost to
determine if you are within your budget.
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286
 Compressing the Schedule
 If the calculated Finish date is later than the Must Finish
By date, you can use several methods to shorten the
project:
 Use relationships to overlap activities.
 Add resources to reduce durations.
 Break down long activities.
 Change calendar assignments:
 Put critical activities on a longer workweek.
 Add exceptions to non-worktime.
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287
 Compressing the Schedule (cont.)
 You can use the following set of questions to help you
decide how to most appropriately adjust the schedule:
 Can the Finish date of the project slip?
 The project may need to be delayed if no other options are
available.
 If the delay is approved, adjust the affected milestones.
 If the delay is not approved, find another way to meet the
project milestones and Finish date of the project.
 Can the scope of the activity/project decrease?
 In some cases, in order to meet the project milestones and
Lesson 19

finish date, you can decrease the total amount of work that will
be accomplished, i.e., decrease the scope of the project.
 If the scope change is approved, decrease the scope by reducing
the total hours worked on activities. This will change the
duration of the activities.
287
 Compressing the Schedule (cont.)
 If the scope change is not approved, find another way to
meet the project milestones and Finish date of the
project.
 Were the budgeted hours over- or under-estimated?
 You may have overestimated the number of hours to complete
activities; the scope of work can be accomplished in fewer
hours.
 You can decrease the total hours worked on activities, which
decreases the duration of the activities.
 Can an additional resource be assigned?
Lesson 19

 You can assign another resource to the activity to finish it on

time.
 This may be possible if another resource with the necessary
skills is available.

287
 Compressing the Schedule (cont.)
 If a resource is available, you can assign it to make up
the hours.
 Can the resource work overtime?
 The resource may need to work overtime to complete an
activity on time.
 If this is possible, you can decrease the duration of the activity,
then enter the original remaining hours.
 The hours the resource works each day will increase.
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288
Reporting Performance
LESSON 20

295
 Lesson Objectives
 Describe reporting methods
 Run a schedule report
 Create a resource report with the Report wizard
 Create a report using the current layout
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295
 Methods for Performance Reporting
 There are many methods to distribute schedule,
resource, and cost performance information to the
project team, including:
 Printed layouts
 Printed reports from the Report wizard
 Printed reports from Report Writer
 Project Web site
 Timesheets
 Primavera Web applications
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296
 Reports Window
 The Reports window displays reports for schedule,
resource, and cost.

Item Functionality

1. Command bar Displays options for adding, editing or running

reports.
2. Reports List Displays the list of reports available to this project.

3. Report Scope Reports can be global or project-specific. Global

reports link to Portfolio Analysis.

4. Report Group Each report can belong to one report group.

Lesson 20

5. Report Name Displays the user-defined name of the report.

6. Display Options bar Click to sort and filter the reports, define fonts/colors.

297
 Running an Existing Report
 You can report schedule performance using a pre-
defined schedule report.
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298
 Running an Existing Report (cont.)
 Run Report Dialog Box
 Use the Run Report dialog box to compile and print the
selected report.
 Print Preview - Preview the report before printing it.
 Directly to Printer - Compile and print the report.
 HTML File - Compile and save the report as an HTML file.
 ASCII Text File - Choose to compile and save the report as a
delimited text file (.txt).
 Field Delimiter - Select the character used to separate categories of
information that you save in delimited text format (i.e., comma,
tab, space).
Lesson 20

 Text Qualifier - Select the character used to separate categories of

data that you save in delimited text format (.txt) if the data contains
the field delimiter you specify, such as quote marks (").

299
 Running an Existing Report (cont.)
 Run Report Dialog Box
 Output file - If you choose HTML File or ASCII Text File, click
to specify the file name and location where you want to save
the report.
 View file when done - Mark this checkbox to automatically
open the report in your default Web browser for an HTML file
or your default text viewer for an ASCII text file.
 Notes - Use to add a comment to the report. Comment appears
directly under the report title.
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299
 Running an Existing Report (cont.)
 Print Preview
 Print preview allows you to make modifications to the layout
before printing.

Item Functionality
1. Page Setup Define report's header/footer, margins, and orientation.
2. Print Setup Select the default printer, print size, and page orientation.
3. Print Print the displayed report.
4. Publish Print the report in HTML format.
5. Left/Right/Up/Down Display the previous or next page of the displayed report.
6. Last/First Page Display the first or last page of the displayed report.
Lesson 20

7. Zoom In/Out Magnify/reduce your view of the displayed report.

8. Help Open Help.
9. Close Close Print Preview and return to the previous window.

300
 Running an Existing Report (cont.)
 Printing Reports
 Printing reports is an effective way to communicate
project information with resources and other project
managers.
 The report below displays the Original Duration,
Remaining Duration, Percent Complete, Activity Name,
Early Start, Early Finish, Late Start, Late Finish and
Total Float of all the activities in the project.
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300
 Report Wizard
 The Report wizard enables you to easily create a wide
variety of ad hoc reports. The reports can be modified as
they are built, or they can be reopened later to be
modified.
 To create a wizard report:
 Select a base table and pertinent data fields.
 Organize the data via grouping, sorting, and filtering options.
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302
 Report Wizard (cont.)
 Create or Modify Report
 You will use the wizard to create a report that shows the
resource assignments on the project and related
Notebook topics.
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303
 Report Wizard (cont.)
 Configure Selected Subject Areas
 Select the columns you would like to use in the report.
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305
 Report Wizard (cont.)
 Adding a Filter to the Report
 Select the filter you would like to use in the report.
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306
 Report Wizard (cont.)
 Print Preview
 You can preview the report before printing. To print,
click the Print icon.
Lesson 20

309
 Saving a Report
 After reviewing your report, you can save it and assign it
to a specific report group.
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310
 Saving a Report (cont.)
 Assigning a Report to a Report Group
 To easily locate a report, you can assign it to a report
group. A report can be assigned to only one report
group.
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311
 Creating a Report Using the Current
Layout
 The Report wizard can also be used to create reports
based on the layout that is currently displayed. Reports
can be modified as they are built through the wizard.
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312
 Creating a Report Using the Current
Layout (cont.)
 Key Concepts
 The Reports window displays reports for schedule, resource,
and cost.
 You can report schedule performance by choosing one of the
pre-defined schedule reports listed in the Reports window.
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316
 Creating a Report Using the Current
Layout (cont.)
 Key Concepts
 The Report wizard enables you to easily create a wide variety of
ad hoc reports. The reports can be modified as they are built, or
they can be reopened later to be modified. To create a wizard
report:
 Select a base table and pertinent data fields.
 Organize the data via grouping, sorting, and filtering options.
 The Report wizard can also be used to create reports based on
the layout that is currently displayed.
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316
Project Web Site
LESSON 21

317
 Lesson Objectives
 Create and launch a project Web site
 Customize the appearance of a project Web site
 Publish activity layouts as HTML pages
Lesson 21

317
 Project Web Site
 The project Web site feature is used to publish a project
plan as a Web site on an intranet or as a Web site on the
Internet. Using a Web browser, the project team and
other interested parties can view project documents that
contain hypertext links to other pages, enabling them to
move between projects and from page to page within a
report.
 You can browse a project plan at a high level and quickly
view more detailed information about specific activities,
work products and documents, resources, etc. You can
Lesson 21

also navigate a project Web site using the project's WBS,

resource hierarchy, reference documents outline, activity
codes and values, risks, and issues.

318
 Project Web Site (cont.)
 Among the Web site features:
 Customize the Web page design.
 Create a Web site that contains one or multiple projects.
 The project(s) must be opened when publishing.
 Control the level of detail published, for example limiting
activity information and personal information about resources.
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318
 Project Web Site (cont.)
 Control the information included:
 Activity layouts
 Tracking layouts
 Project reports
 Global data dictionaries
 Test a project Web site locally prior to publishing publicly.
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318
 Creating a Project Web Site
 On the General tab in the Projects window, you can
create a link to the location of the project Web site.
 Use the General tab to set up the information displayed
on the Web site:
 Web Site Name, Web Site Description, and Last Publish Date is
displayed on the Web site splash screen.
 Path chosen in the Publish Directory field determines the
location of the Web site files.
 Scheme determines the fonts, colors, icons, and splash screen
that will be used for the Web site.
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319
 Customizing the Project Web Site
 You can use the default scheme or create your own
scheme by adding graphics, fonts, and colors.
Customizable features include background/foreground
colors, icons/logos, and text types/fonts.
 Use the Main Form tab to customize features on the
main form of the Web site.
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321
 Customizing the Project Web Site (cont.)
 Splash Tab
 Use the Splash tab to customize features on the splash
screen.
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322
 Customizing the Project Web Site (cont.)
 Topics Tab
 Use the Topics tab to determine the detailed data to
publish to the Web site. If all checkboxes are cleared,
only WBS data is published.
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323
 Customizing the Project Web Site (cont.)
 Graphics Tab
 Use the Graphics tab to select existing activity or
tracking layouts to publish to the project's Web site.
 Define activity layouts in the Activities window and tracking
layouts in the Tracking window.
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324
 Customizing the Project Web Site (cont.)
 Reports Tab
 The Reports tab is used to select existing reports to
publish to the project Web site.
 If you do not want reports to be displayed in a specific
Web site, clear the Include in project Web site checkbox.
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325
 Customizing the Project Web Site (cont.)
 Publishing the Web Site
 A project Web site cannot be published in a subdirectory
beneath the directory that contains Primavera.
 A project Web site cannot be published if the subdirectory
contains files other than the Project Web site files.
 If the publish subdirectory contains only project Web site files,
those files will be deleted and replaced with the updated files.
 If the publish subdirectory does not exist, the subdirectory will be
created.
 Data is static as of the date the site is published. To update the
site with the new data, publish the site again.
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326
 Customizing the Project Web Site (cont.)
 Launching the Web Site
 The Web site can be launched two ways:
 Automatically in the default browser if the Automatically
launch web site preview after publishing checkbox is marked.
 Manually from the General tab in the Projects window.
 The URL set for the Web site is also displayed in
Primavera Portfolio Analysis and in Timesheets, and can
be used to launch the Web site.
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327
 Navigating the Project Web Site
 The project Web site is divided into three panes:
 Upper pane - Contains a navigation toolbar for quick access to
various sections of the Web site.
 Click the Subtoolbar to view a specific set of data relating to what is
selected from the upper pane.
 Left pane - Select the data elements to view.
 Right pane - Navigate through the details for the element
displayed in the left pane.
 The icons in the upper pane allow you to view global data
dictionaries as well as the activity/tracking layouts and
reports you selected to publish.
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328
 Publishing Activity Layouts
 Save activity layouts as HTML files that are not linked to
a project Web site you previously created. The layouts
represent a static picture of the project.
 Timescale begins on the date defined by the selected layout.
 Columns displayed are defined by the selected layout.
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330
 Publishing Activity Layouts (cont.)
 Key Concepts
 The project Web site feature is used to publish a project
plan as a Web site on an intranet or as a Web site on the
Internet. The Web site can include activity layouts,
tracking layouts, project reports, and global data
dictionaries.
 You can use the default scheme or create your own
scheme by adding graphics, fonts, and colors.
 You can also save activity layouts as HTML files that are
not linked to any project Web site you previously
Lesson 21

created. These layouts represent a static picture of the

project.

332